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International gene pool of plant breeders to expand
News release | 12 August, 2009
Plant breeders want to do more than breed new plants - they want to breed more plant breeders.
The Society for the Advancement of Breeding Research in Asia and Oceania (SABRAO) is gravely concerned that not enough plant breeders are being trained to face the enormous challenges in developing countries.
"We are a dying breed," said Queensland Primary Industries and Fisheries (QPIF) principal plant breeder Phillip Banks.
"It´s a problem right across agriculture - there are fewer students in the areas of plant breeding and genetics.
"Plant breeders need more education and training to help strengthen international plant-breeding research both in developed and developing countries.
"If we improve education and training in Australia there will be less need to employ plant breeders from other countries."
To address the issue, an education, training and breeding forum was held as part of this week´s 14th Australasian Plant Breeding Conference (APBC) and 11th Congress of SABRAO in Cairns.
Representatives from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), Grain Research and Development Corporation (GRDC), Australian universities and international crop improvement centres took part on a panel to discuss present and future initiatives.
They discussed with breeders the need to attract more young people into plant-breeding courses and ways of emphasising their vital humanitarian role in providing food security in developing countries.
"Global food production needs to double by 2030 just to keep pace with spiralling population growth," Dr Banks said.
"Climate change, diminishing water resources, higher temperatures and more frequent extreme weather events all impact on production.
"The increased production needs to be principally from genetic improvement because additional land area, water and fertilisers will be scarce or too expensive.
"Biofuel crops will need to be taken into account as well as food and fibre crops."
Media contact: David Anthony +61 7 4057 3676,
david.anthony@deedi.qld.gov.au