Parts of Kansas could use a boost. With populations declining and economies suffering as a result, rural Kansas should look at every legitimate opportunity to improve its fortunes.

That includes the idea of growing genetically engineered crops for the pharmaceutical industry. The idea is being discussed by leaders at the Kansas Department of Agriculture.

Based on a story that ran in Tuesday’s Journal-World, it appears there may be an unhealthy amount of pessimism about the prospect. Both organic farmers and some members of the state’s corn-growing industry expressed concern about the possibility of genetically engineered “pharm crops” cross-pollinating with traditional crops.

As one farmer put it: “So the question becomes, do you really want heart medicine in your morning corn flakes?”

A serious concern, no doubt. No one will stand for a system that compromises the safety of the country’s food supply.

But state leaders shouldn’t reject the idea of “pharm crops” out of hand. They shouldn’t let what likely are some significant hurdles diminish their interest.

In fact, they ought to view the issue as a challenge worth tackling. There’s no reason that Kansas can’t capitalize on the growing interest in bioengineered crops. In Kansas State University, the state already has one of the nation’s more prominent agricultural research institutions. In Kansas University, the state has what leaders believe is a rising star in the pharmaceutical world.

The brain power of the two schools seems well-equipped to research ways to make “pharm crops” more feasible in today’s world. Such collaboration is exactly what was envisioned in the Kansas Economic Growth Act passed by the Kansas Legislature earlier this year.

If Kansas could become viewed as a trailblazer in the bioengineered crop world, the benefits could be great. It could provide farmers (and the towns that they live in) with a new revenue source, the state’s burgeoning biotech industry with a new foothold and state universities with new federal and pharmaceutical research dollars.

It is the type of opportunity the state can no longer afford to ignore. Whether you rely on a new Census report or simply a weekend drive along Interstate 70, it is easy to see that parts of Western Kansas are becoming more desolate by the day.

“Pharm crops” won’t be the sole answer to the challenges facing rural Kansas. No single medicine is strong enough to cure everything that ails that part of our economy.

But state agriculture leaders could help the region take a step in the right direction by adopting a “can-do” attitude on bioengineered crops, rather than a position that the issue is too tough to ever consider.

After all, rural Kansas is a great place to grow everything from wheat to soybeans. But if we ever hope to grow the region’s economy, we at some point must plant a seed of optimism.