Renowned agriculture scientist M.S. Swaminathan said on Friday that making a hunger and malnutrition-free society should be 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 development of nutrition-rich crops to eradicate hunger.
He was addressing the concluding session of the 5th International Conference on Next Generation Genomics and Integrated Breeding for Crop Improvement (NGGIBCI-V) held at the International Crops Research for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).
Over 300 delegates representing private and public sectors from 30 countries worldwide participated and deliberated on future collaborations and ways to integrate next-generation genomics into the future of crop improvement to contribute to global food and nutrition security.
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,” opined Dr. Howard-Yana Shapiro, Chief Agricultural Officer, MARS Inc.
USA, while talking on genomics interventions to ensure food and nutritional security in developing countries.
“Next-generation sequencing technologies are vital in feeding the ever growing global population,” said Asis Datta, founder and former director, National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR), India. “It is important to train the next generation of breeders to deploy modern technologies for crop improvement,” stressed Jean-Marcel Ribaut, Director, CGIAR Generation Challenge Program (GCP), Mexico, in highlighting successful case studies in translating genomics research for crop improvement and the GCP’s role in providing the platform.
A big challenge
“The challenge of producing more nutritious food to feed 9 billion people in 2050 amid the threat of climate change is enormous. Next-generation genomics is one of the ‘best bets’ for sustainably eradicating hunger, malnutrition and poverty. This powerful tool can dramatically increase our capacity to utilise genetic diversity and develop highly nutritious, stress tolerant crop varieties faster and cheaper than conventional crop improvement practices,” emphasised David Bergvinson, Director General, ICRISAT.
