Human Resources for Using Diversity.

The directed genetic manipulation of crop plants (breeding) provides some of humanity’s most powerful tools to support food security and economic development, and to maintain or alter the environment. The balance of these goals varies widely among countries and depends especially on general level of development. Poorer countries tend to focus on food security. At the same time it is becoming clear that attention to environmental impact of agriculture is not a luxury, and not only an issue for developed countries. The use of genetic diversity in multiple beneficial ways is both a global opportunity and an imperative. Optimizing these benefits demands comprehensive approaches that rely on well-developed plant breeding and delivery systems. In the intervening years since the peak of the Green Revolution, for multiple reasons, support to plant breeding R&D in many countries has waned. The consequences are becoming clear: declining numbers of plant breeders, deficiencies in the training programs responsible for developing new talent, infrastructure and support systems in need of renewal, and, most critically, populations at greater risk. In the past decade there has been major progress in securing the conservation of crop genetic resources, providing an opportune moment for renewed investment in their utilization for multiple purposes. In view of these concerns, FAO led a global survey, focused on developing countries, of current plant breeding capacity and future needs. In response to the demonstrated needs, FAO and its partners launched an initiative in 2006 known as the Global Partnership Initiative for Plant Breeding Capacity Building (GIPB). Its purpose is to support partnerships to increase the plant breeding capacity as a means of improving nutrition and income generation, while protecting the environment. GIPB maintains a comprehensive web-based knowledge resource center and portal for plant breeding-related information (http://km.fao.org/gipb/).