Nanotechnology – Can It Be a Hope for Developing Economies

Abstract

The present human capital of the world has been increasing and is expected to reach 8.6 billion in 2030, 9.8 billion in 2050 and 11.2 billion in 2100. This has necessitated the development of new paradigms such as future food crisis for the future generations, sustainable agriculture and the possible imbalance to our ecosystem in the absence of a sustainable innovative technology which can deliver it on time. As per FAO, 60 percent of the world's human resource depends on agriculture for survival. So if the population is about 7 billion now and grows rapidly, 12 percent of the total available land, or about 1.5 billion hectares, would be used for agricultural crops. Though off late there has been a decline in the demand for agricultural products on account of fall in the growth rate of population in many countries combined with a fall in the food consumption, it should be noted that the developing countries will face the food crisis and will tend to become more dependent on agricultural imports. The food security in such poor developing economies will suffer in the absence of a rise in the agricultural production. At present, around 9 percent of the world population is above 65 years of age, a number expected to increase to 16 percent by 2050. In Europe, such a demographic projection exercise leads to 28 percent of the population being above 65 years of age in 2050, up from 19 percent in 2020. The median age of Europeans, currently 42.5 years, is projected to increase to over 47 years. In Asia, the median age has been 30 years or lesser, with an upward trend in the growth of her population. The demand for food is expected to rise along with a rise in her population. The world is at the mercy of an innovative technology which can help the developing economies from their miseries in the years to come. The paper has
diagnosed the scope of nanotechnology for the developing economies which are primary producing economies and lag in many institutional parameters which are necessary for the promotion and the development of nanotechnology so that its benefits become inclusive rather than exclusive – A domain of advanced economies so far….