key to global food and nutritional security

ICRISAT February 20 2015

http://www.icrisat.org/newsroom/latest-news/happenings/happenings1663.htm#1

(Left)Dr Swaminathan speaking at the closing session; (Right) A standing room audience listening in rapt attention. Photos: PS Rao, ICRISAT

Over 300 delegates from 30 countries worldwide representing, both private and public sector, convened at ICRISAT-India to deliberate on future collaborations and ways to integrate next-generation genomics into the future of crop improvement  to contribute to global food and nutrition security.

“Making a hunger- and malnutrition-free society is the ultimate goal of every agricultural scientist and stakeholder. Next-generation genomics backed by strong technological advancements will facilitate science-based agricultural innovations such as the development of nutrition-rich crops to eradicate hunger,” said Dr MS Swaminathan, renowned agricultural scientist and Father of India’s Green Revolution at the three-day ‘5th International Conference on Next Generation Genomics and Integrated Breeding for Crop Improvement (NGGIBCI-V)’.

Genomics – or deciphering the genomic content of crop species using high-throughput and next-generation approaches – allows the scientific community access to ‘good genes’ to speed up breeding for superior crop varieties with agronomically important traits.

“It is not so much a question of more food. It is more a question of better food,” said Dr Howard-Yana Shapiro, Chief Agricultural Officer, MARS Inc. USA, in his talk on genomics interventions to ensure food and nutritional security in developing countries.

In his capacity as lead of the African Orphan Crop Consortium, Dr Shapiro highlighted the work of sequencing 101 genomes of orphan crops to improve the nutritional content, productivity and climate adaptability of some of Africa’s most important food crops, providing a fundamental step in helping to eradicate chronic hunger, malnutrition and stunting among children in Africa.