If you have been paying much attention during the past year or so to both state and local news, you have seen and heard a lot about biotechnology. Our governor and many members of our state legislature have been promoting biotechnology as the wave of the future. They compare the benefits that biotechnology can provide to the economy of our state as being similar to the benefits that have been provided by the Research Triangle Park.

Just yesterday, there was an announcement here in Robeson County about a biotechnology research and training facility that will be built at the new COMtech Park which is located on NC-711 between Lumberton and Pembroke. Greenstate Landscape and Nursery, one of the leading landscape and ornamental businesses in our county, will purchase property at COMtech and construct a state-of-the-art greenhouse. This facility will then be used by UNC-Pembroke, Robeson Community College, the Public Schools of Robeson County, the Cooperative Extension Service, and others for biotech-related research and teaching.

With this support from Keith Taylor and Myra Norton, owners of Greenstate, the educational agencies listed above will now have a better opportunity to train our current and potential workforce about biotech and they will also be able to participate in both public and private research related to biotechnology. In addition, this facility will hopefully attract biotech-related businesses to the COMtech park and can support some of the research and product development for those companies that locate at COMtech.

When the concept of the Research Triangle Park was first being discussed as a highly specialized research and manufacturing center being developed in the middle of our state, sitting right in the middle of the three leading research universities in our state, in the midst of the highest concentration of PhDs in the world, and located close to the majority of the population of this state, there were many people who felt the costs far outweighed the benefits and were not very supportive. But fortunately, our state legislature saw the benefits of this concept and the Research Triangle Park was developed. I would assume that the vast majority of the citizens of this state will now agree that this was a very wise decision.

As biotechnology is being discussed for the state of North Carolina, there are many of the same arguments and concerns as were posed for the Research Triangle Park. Some people see biotechnology as an opportunity for economic development not only in the "wealthy" counties but also in a lot of the poorer, rural counties of the state. They see it as an opportunity for the development of higher paying jobs for both the unemployed and the underemployed.

But just what is biotechnology? Biotechnology refers to the use of living systems to produce products. Recent advancements in science now allows us to better understand the process of life at the level of the cell and the molecule. Now we have the ability to improve the benefits of microbes, plants, or animals for human use by making very precise genetic changes that have not been possible before.

Biotechnology has already been used to increase the ability of plants to fight diseases and insects. Some plants have been modified to increase their nutritional content, such as rice with enhanced Vitamin A to prevent childhood blindness. Plants are being breed to remove undesirable substances, such as allergens and saturated fats.

Biotechnology has also been used to increase the ability of animals to overcome diseases. Animal feeds have been improved to ensure better health and to reduce the amount of waste that the animals generate.

Biotechnology is not a new concept. Whether they realized it or not, our ancestors were using biotechnology thousands of years ago as they selected certain plants and animals. Early uses of microbes to produce cheeses, wines, breads, and many other food items were actually forms of biotechnology.

But we are much better at it today and getting better all the time. This is why biotechnology may actually be the "wave of the future."

With this commitment from Greenstate Landscaping and Nursery and the support from the cooperating agencies, our county is one of the first in the state to position itself with a facility as I described above. The future for Robeson County is bright and now it just got a little brighter.

E-mail address: Everett_Davis@ncsu.edu

Mailing Address:
P. O. Box 2280
Lumberton, NC 28359-2280

Phone: 910-671-3276
Fax: 910-671-6278

Date Created 7/5/05