NL Journal of Agriculture and Biotechnology
(ISSN: 3048-9679)

Food security and resilience have become pressing global needs, as agriculture is increasingly challenged by climate change, environmental degradation, and population growth. Many stakeholders are striving to address these challenges through diverse approaches: developing improved cultivation techniques, breeding cultivars that respond to emerging problems, creating environmentally friendly yet effective fertilizers and pesticides, and advancing biotechnological innovations. Each of these efforts represents an essential contribution toward ensuring that agriculture continues to sustain human life.

Over the past few years, my academic journey has been deeply rooted in the characterization of agricultural genetic resources through phenotypic traits, including morphology, agronomy, and physiology. These approaches have been instrumental in understanding the diversity of plant genetic resources and their potential utilization. However, in recent years, I have increasingly expanded my focus toward genotypic exploration, particularly through the use of omics-based approaches such as transcriptomics, metabolomics, and proteomics.

At present, my thesis research centers on the study of small peptides in pigmented rice cultivars under drought stress. While this project highlights the role of proteomics in uncovering novel signalling molecules associated with stress adaptation, I am also actively involved in transcriptomic and metabolomic analyses as part of my current research team. This multidimensional approach allows us to observe the complexity of plant responses from different molecular perspectives, offering a more holistic understanding of crop resilience.

In my view, maintaining a balance between phenotypic and genotypic characterization is essential, as these approaches complement one another. Phenotypic observation remains the most accessible and immediate meth- od for evaluating plant traits in the field. Yet, validating these observations with genotypic information provides stronger confidence in determining which genetic resources hold promise for addressing future agricultural challenges. This alignment not only bridges laboratory findings with real field conditions but also ensures that research outcomes are practical, reliable, and ultimately beneficial for farmers and society.

I firmly believe that the advancement of agriculture requires more collaboration across disciplines rather than competition among them. The integration of expertise from laboratory scientists, field researchers, policymakers, and legal experts is indispensable for building sustainable solutions. No single discipline is superior to another; rather, it is the synergy among them that drives meaningful innovation. By fostering such multidisciplinary col- laborations, we can collectively contribute to resilient agricultural systems that serve the needs of communities worldwide.