Review: Improving global food security through accelerated plant breeding

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Plant Breeding
• Food Security

Background:

• Global population growth to 9 billion by 2050 and rising incomes in developing nations present significant food demand challenges.
• Climate change, urbanization, and land degradation exacerbate pressures on global food supply systems.
• Existing food systems require fundamental transformation to address multifaceted and self-reinforcing challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review conventional and biotechnological methods for accelerating plant breeding, excluding genetic engineering or gene editing.
• To assess the feasibility of these accelerated breeding methods for national agricultural research systems in developing countries.
• To advocate for the immediate adoption of accelerated breeding practices in the public sector.

Main Methods:

• Focus on proven conventional and biotechnological plant breeding acceleration techniques.
• Evaluation of implementation feasibility for developing countries' agricultural research systems.
• Economic analysis of accelerated breeding methods.

Main Results:

• Accelerated breeding methods can significantly shorten the time for developing and deploying improved crop varieties.
• Rapid Generation Advance (RGA) is identified as the most feasible method for public sector implementation.
• Postponing the adoption of accelerated breeding technologies is economically unsound.

Conclusions:

• Accelerated crop breeding is crucial for addressing future food security challenges.
• Rapid Generation Advance (RGA) offers a practical and economically sensible approach for public agricultural research.
• Immediate adoption of accelerated breeding practices by the public sector is recommended to enhance global food supply.