Mainstreaming the continuum approach to the management of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture through national strategy

Abstract

Global food security could be imperilled by the combined pressures from the effects of continually evolving climatic conditions, demographics and other socio-economic factors, the demands of the livestock, bioenergy and fibre industries for food-based substrates, the static or decreasing availability of natural resources for agriculture and the impracticality of increased use of economically and environmentally costly agricultural inputs. The optimal harnessing of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA) in manners that translate their repertoire of hidden potentials into significantly enhanced crop productivities has been severally identified as crucial to achieving the required considerably significant increases in food production. The scope of the problems and the plausible means for addressing them compel the devising of novel and more efficient ways for deploying PGRFA in need-based crop improvement programmes. We posit a continuum approach to the management of PGRFA which links seamlessly the effective conservation and access to PGRFA through their use in developing superior and resilient crop varieties to the provision of their high-quality seeds and planting materials to the growers. To achieve the mainstreaming of this paradigm, we propose the institutionalization of overarching national PGRFA strategies that prescribe result-oriented action plans spanning above three components of the management of PGRFA for a country's priority crops. We also describe the strategy as a means for identifying and assigning responsibilities to critical stakeholders and providing for the governance of all aspects of PGRFA activities over specific time frames. Steps to developing and adopting a national PGRFA strategy are also suggested.

Induced Mutations Unleash the Potentials of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

“…Breeding the needed novel varieties will require a most judicious application of the most appropriate scientific and technological tools so that the inherent potentials of PGRFA are harnessed optimally [14,125]. Induced mutagenesis, albeit almost a century old technique, demonstrably can contribute to unleashing the potentials of PGRFA and thereby avail plant breeders and other scientists the raw materials needed to generate the envisaged "smart" crop varieties.…”

On-Farm Crop Diversity for Advancing Food Security and Nutrition

“…To achieve the most benefits from PGRFA while at the same time safeguarding them, activities that address conservation must be linked to those concerned with plant breeding which in turn must feed into seed delivery systems. In many countries and regions, there is a lack of these linkages between these three modules of the PGRFA management continuum [131] (Figure 4).…”

The Reflective Plant Breeding Paradigm: A Robust System of Germplasm Development to Support Strategic Diversification of Agroecosystems

“…Sustaining such efforts over the time scales required (e.g., 10 yr) will require capacity for ongoing coordination and integration, engagement with policy development and capital providers, and managing inevitable conflicts of interest among stakeholders and other disruptions to innovation and research and development processes. Can public plant breeding programs sponsor the RPBP? In the United States, many public breeding programs have experienced reduced investment from state and federal sources, while private breeding capacities have expanded for major commodity crops such as corn and soybean (Mba et al, 2012). In many cases, the public programs are now redesigning themselves in response to these developments.…”

“…Can public plant breeding programs sponsor the RPBP? In the United States, many public breeding programs have experienced reduced investment from state and federal sources, while private breeding capacities have expanded for major commodity crops such as corn and soybean (Mba et al, 2012). In many cases, the public programs are now redesigning themselves in response to these developments.…”