Re-orienting Crop Improvement for the Changing Climatic Conditions of the 21st Century

A 70% increase in food production is required over the next four decades to feed an ever-increasing population. The inherent difficulties in achieving this unprecedented increase are exacerbated by the yield-depressing consequences of climate change and variations and by the pressures on food supply...

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Main Authors: Mba, Chikelu, Guimarães, Elcio Perpétuo, Ghosh, Kakoli
Format: Journal Article
Language:Inglés
Published: Springer 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/44037
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author Mba, Chikelu
Guimarães, Elcio Perpétuo
Ghosh, Kakoli
author_browse Ghosh, Kakoli
Guimarães, Elcio Perpétuo
Mba, Chikelu
author_facet Mba, Chikelu
Guimarães, Elcio Perpétuo
Ghosh, Kakoli
author_sort Mba, Chikelu
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description A 70% increase in food production is required over the next four decades to feed an ever-increasing population. The inherent difficulties in achieving this unprecedented increase are exacerbated by the yield-depressing consequences of climate change and variations and by the pressures on food supply by other competing demographic and socioeconomic demands. With the dwindling or stagnant agricultural land and water resources, the sought-after increases will therefore be attained mainly through the enhancement of crop productivity under eco-efficient crop production systems. Smart crop varieties that yield more with fewer inputs will be pivotal to success. Plant breeding must be re-oriented in order to generate these smart crop varieties. This paper highlights some of the scientific and technological tools that ought to be the staple of all breeding programs. We also make the case that plant breeding must be enabled by adequate policies, including those that spur innovation and investments. To arrest and reverse the worrisome trend of declining capacities for crop improvement, a new generation of plant breeders must also be trained. Equally important, winning partnerships, including public-private sector synergies, are needed for 21st century plant breeding to bear fruits. We also urge the adoption of the continuum approach to the management of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture as means to improved cohesion of the components of its value chain. Compellingly also, the National Agricultural Research and Extension System of developing countries require comprehensive overhauling and strengthening as crop improvement and other interventions require a sustained platform to be effective. The development of a suite of actionable policy interventions to be packaged for assisting countries in developing result-oriented breeding programs is also called for.
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spelling CGSpace440372025-02-19T12:58:58Z Re-orienting Crop Improvement for the Changing Climatic Conditions of the 21st Century Mba, Chikelu Guimarães, Elcio Perpétuo Ghosh, Kakoli plant genetic resources for food and agriculture pgrfa plant breeding crop improvement biotechnology marker-aided selection genetic transformation induced mutations phenomics A 70% increase in food production is required over the next four decades to feed an ever-increasing population. The inherent difficulties in achieving this unprecedented increase are exacerbated by the yield-depressing consequences of climate change and variations and by the pressures on food supply by other competing demographic and socioeconomic demands. With the dwindling or stagnant agricultural land and water resources, the sought-after increases will therefore be attained mainly through the enhancement of crop productivity under eco-efficient crop production systems. Smart crop varieties that yield more with fewer inputs will be pivotal to success. Plant breeding must be re-oriented in order to generate these smart crop varieties. This paper highlights some of the scientific and technological tools that ought to be the staple of all breeding programs. We also make the case that plant breeding must be enabled by adequate policies, including those that spur innovation and investments. To arrest and reverse the worrisome trend of declining capacities for crop improvement, a new generation of plant breeders must also be trained. Equally important, winning partnerships, including public-private sector synergies, are needed for 21st century plant breeding to bear fruits. We also urge the adoption of the continuum approach to the management of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture as means to improved cohesion of the components of its value chain. Compellingly also, the National Agricultural Research and Extension System of developing countries require comprehensive overhauling and strengthening as crop improvement and other interventions require a sustained platform to be effective. The development of a suite of actionable policy interventions to be packaged for assisting countries in developing result-oriented breeding programs is also called for. 2012-06-01 2014-10-02T08:33:08Z 2014-10-02T08:33:08Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/44037 en Open Access Springer Mba, C., Guimaraes, E. P., & Ghosh, K. (2012). Re-orienting crop improvement for the changing climatic conditions of the 21st century. In Agriculture & Food Security (Vol. 1, Issue 1). Springer Science and Business Media LLC. https://doi.org/10.1186/2048-7010-1-7
spellingShingle plant genetic resources for food and agriculture
pgrfa
plant breeding
crop improvement
biotechnology
marker-aided selection
genetic transformation
induced mutations
phenomics
Mba, Chikelu
Guimarães, Elcio Perpétuo
Ghosh, Kakoli
Re-orienting Crop Improvement for the Changing Climatic Conditions of the 21st Century
title Re-orienting Crop Improvement for the Changing Climatic Conditions of the 21st Century
title_full Re-orienting Crop Improvement for the Changing Climatic Conditions of the 21st Century
title_fullStr Re-orienting Crop Improvement for the Changing Climatic Conditions of the 21st Century
title_full_unstemmed Re-orienting Crop Improvement for the Changing Climatic Conditions of the 21st Century
title_short Re-orienting Crop Improvement for the Changing Climatic Conditions of the 21st Century
title_sort re orienting crop improvement for the changing climatic conditions of the 21st century
topic plant genetic resources for food and agriculture
pgrfa
plant breeding
crop improvement
biotechnology
marker-aided selection
genetic transformation
induced mutations
phenomics
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/44037
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