3.

In pairs, discuss and write one of the following: c) Effects of technology on the agricultural sector and culture of a society

The technology had given great impact on our agricultural sector. There are good and bad influences from this technology. Some major advantages of agriculture are a country primarily indulging in agriculture rarely faces a shortage and does not have to rely on imported sources for food production. With agriculture, they can be self sufficient in crops, raw materials for clothing, livestock and dairy products. Then, with the growing shortage of food in the world an emphasis is being laid now on enhancing agricultural production in order to keep food items at an affordable level for the world populations.

Besides, the Genetic Modified Organisms (GMO) and Transgenic plants had been invented. To date the broadest and most controversial application of GMO technology is patent-protected food crops which are resistant to commercial herbicides or are able to produce pesticidal proteins from within the plant, or stacked trait seeds, which do both. While transgenic plants have been engineered to possess several desirable traits, including resistance to pests, herbicides, or harsh environmental conditions; improved product shelf life, and increased nutritional value. Since the first commercial cultivation of genetically modified plants in 1996, they have been modified to be tolerant to the herbicides glufosinate and glyphosate, to be resistant to virus damage as in Ringspot virus resistant GM papaya, grown in Hawaii, and to produce the Bt toxin, a potent insecticide. Most of transgenic varieties grown today are known as first generation transgenics, because the transgenic trait provides benefits to farmers. Plants of the second generation should directly benefit the consumer with nutritional enhancement, taste, texture, etc. Genetically modified sweet potatoes have been enhanced with protein and other nutrients, while golden rice, developed by the International Rice Research Institute, has been discussed as a possible cure for Vitamin A deficiency.

Another impact is on the agricultural surfaces and climate changes. Climate change may increase the amount of arable land in high-latitude region by reduction of the amount of frozen lands. Sea levels are expected to get up to one meter higher by 2100, though this projection is disputed. A rise in the sea level would result in an agricultural land loss, in particular in areas such as South East Asia. Erosion, submergence of shorelines, salinity of the water table due to the increased sea levels, could mainly affect agriculture through inundation of low-lying lands. Low lying areas also will experience major loss of rice crop if sea levels are expected to rise by the end of the century. Vietnam for example relies heavily on its southern tip, where the Mekong Delta lies, for rice planting. Any rise in sea level of no more than a meter will drown several km2. of rice paddies, rendering Vietnam incapable of producing its main staple and export of rice.

Soil erosion also is the bad impact of the technology. Due to the extremes of climate that would result, the increase in precipitations would probably result in greater risks of erosion, whilst at the same time providing soil with better hydration, according to the intensity of the rain. The possible evolution of the organic matter in the soil is a highly contested issue: while the increase in the temperature would induce a greater rate in the production of minerals, lessening the soil organic matter content, the atmospheric CO2 concentration would tend to increase it.

Every state has its distinctive culture, which plays an important role in shaping its social, economical and political system. For instance during the Great World Wars, during the Cold War and the era after the cold war all witnesses different aspects of social and economical cultures that are influenced by the political cultural cultures that are influenced by the political culture. But as related to today topic. The effect of culture of a society, brings out a big scope to be discussed. There are a dark and bright side in every matter, so do to this topic. First and foremost, the advantages of the culture of a society is it basically eliminates poverty and improves the overall quality of life. Continuous cultures can take advantage of cell immobilization which allows the

maintenance of high concentrations of cells in the reactor at low substrate concentrations. Most downstream processing operations (apart from chromatography) operate in a continuous manner. Continuous bioreactors thus fit in will with overall operation of a bioprocess plant .Continuous reactors do not need to be shut down and cleaned as regularly as a batch reactor and thus have a shorter "turn-around" time. This also reduces costs associated with cleaning and filling of the reactor. Meanwhile the disadvantage of culture of a society are there are a lot of customs and that should be followed. Nowadays people tend to forget their norms and practice due to technological world. Besides that, foods now days become very harmful as lots of unhealthy ingredients are used. Hence, we need to find effective ways to overcome this globalization problems. In conclusion, the effects of technology on the agricultural sector and the culture of a society have its advantages and disadvantages. We should overcome the disadvantages with effective ways and we should make use of the technology towards a beneficial ways.