Scientists at the Korea Research Institute of Bioscience and Biotechnology developed a new technology that aims to prevent desertification using biotech crops. According to research leader Dr. Kwak Sang-soo, about 90 percent of desertification is due to poverty. "Overgrazing, damage to forests, and the inappropriate management of water and soil, stemming from the poverty of the local people, are core reasons for desertification. So, the cultivation of crops can be the most effective preventative measure," he explains.

The team successfully planted biotech sweet potatoes in China's Kubichi Desert and Kazakhstan, two of the largest semi-arid areas in Northeast Asia. They are also decoding the genome of sweet potatoes in collaboration with Chinese and Japanese researchers. The genome of sweet potato is harder to decode than the human genome, but they project that it will be completed in 2016.

Dr. Kwak said, "Our ultimate goal is to grow a large amount of genetically modified sweet potatoes in areas affected by desertification in China, Kazakhstan, the Middle East, and Africa, based on decoded information on the genome of sweet potatoes."

Read more at Genetic Literary Project and Business Korea.

Figure: Dr. Kwak Sang-soo (left) and his advisee check the growth of genetically-modified poplar with a tolerance for environmental stress. - See more at: http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/article/8908/prevention-desertification-tech-developed-prevent-desertification-genetically-modified#sthash.xSoWrn5A.dpuf