Imagine a world in which garri (cassava flake) is considered a luxury, amala (yam flour) is only a tale your grandparents tell, or the deliciousness of your mother’s Jollof rice is constantly in jeopardy due to the scarcity of the proper rice or tomatoes, which are being destroyed by odd new diseases or harsh weather.
This may not be a scene from your favorite Nollywood film; it might be the world’s reality. If we don’t safeguard the very basis of our food supply, there is a very real threat to our farms and dinner tables.
By 2050, the global population is projected to reach 9.8 billion. Global food production, especially in developing countries, will be seriously threatened by this growth, rising urbanisation, the difficulties of unfavorable weather, insurgency, and the emergence of new diseases and pests, as well as the growing resistance of existing ones.
Although the 1960s Green Revolution greatly increased crop yields, it also unintentionally reduced future agricultural diversity. It decreased the actual range of crop diversity by encouraging farmers to focus on a small number of high-yielding varieties, leaving our food systems vulnerable—a risk that is likely to worsen in the future.
Plant genetic resources (PGRs), sometimes referred to as crop genetic resources (CGRs), are the entire genetic material of a crop species and its wild relatives, including all alleles of different genes (Salgotra & Chauhan, 2023). At their core, they embody the biological diversity that is essential to global agricultural systems.
According to Salgotra and Chauhan (2023), this vast genetic pool consists of cultivated crops, newly developed varieties, traditional landraces, modern and even obsolete cultivars, breeding stocks, wild relatives of cultivated crops, specific genetic lines like elite and current breeders’ lines, mutants, and other plant species that are significant to agriculture.
These resources are fundamental building blocks for crop development and are strategically important for future food and nutrition security, as well as for sustainable crop production. They are by no means academic curiosities.
Maintaining food security, sustaining livelihoods, and enabling agriculture to adapt to various changing challenges all depend on the genetic diversity present in PGRs and CGRs. This is particularly important in light of the growing global demand for food, the emergence of new pests and diseases, and climate change (FAO, 2019; Bioversity International, 2020).
Therefore, how can we make these CGRs useful to farmers, particularly in anticipation of future adverse impacts of climate change on food security? Plant breeding specialists like me conduct what is known as “characterisation” to fully realise the potential in CGRs. This comprises gathering, classifying, assessing (both phenotypically and genotypically), and recording the genetic and morphological characteristics in the collection. Crop improvement, combating emerging pests and diseases, and mitigating the negative effects of climate change on crop productivity can all greatly benefit from this approach. Without characterisation, it is impossible to discover and take advantage of the hidden treasures in our CGRs for the benefit of farmers and the maintenance of food security for an expanding population.
There are many CGR collections worldwide; many of them are uncharacterised, while others are characterised. For instance, one important and widely cultivated crop worldwide, especially in tropical and subtropical regions, is okra (Abelmoschus esculentus).
It is a high-yielding yearly plant with a wide range of characteristics, including height, branching, color, maturity period, and pod characteristics. The main reason okra is grown is for its soft green pods, which are in high demand in markets for canned, frozen, and fresh vegetables.
Okra is important for nutrition in addition to its commercial value, particularly in times when other vegetables are in short supply. It is an essential part of the human diet because it is a highly nutrient-dense vegetable that is rich in protein, carbohydrates, calcium, potassium, vitamins A, B1, and C, dietary fiber, and other essential minerals.
Recent research also highlights its diverse pharmaceutical benefits, notably its immune-system-enhancing properties. The global okra market is experiencing a significant surge in both demand and supply, driven by the increasing need for food, pharmaceuticals, and agricultural products.
Okra rarely reaches its maximum yield due to several limitations, despite its significant economic potential. These include the high prevalence of pests and diseases, the extensive use of single or unimproved local varieties, the limited genetic base of current varieties that renders them unsuitable for various processing needs, and the high expenses associated with manual harvesting.
My current PhD research focuses on assessing the world’s most extensive germplasm collection, which is owned by the US Department of Agriculture’s GRIN. To identify accessions with potential for mechanical harvesting and significant agricultural economic traits, such as yield, disease resistance, and tolerance to abiotic stress, I conducted morphological and genetic assessments on these accessions.
This work will lay the foundation for breeding the next improved variety of okra that will meet the trait targets of both subsistence and commercial farmers globally. The importance of this work cannot be overstated. Hence, significant federal and international organisations should invest substantially in collecting, evaluating, and maintaining extensive crop genetic resources worldwide.
Therefore, this crucial endeavor of protecting the world’s crop genetic resources necessitates consistent funding for research like mine, as well as effective global government policy. By ensuring that these invaluable resources are readily accessible for enhancing crop improvement, such initiatives are crucial to the resilience of future agricultural systems.
In conclusion, crop genetic resources are essential to achieving and maintaining global food security. The process of characterising these resources transforms them into useful instruments that provide a tangible solution to the impending food security crisis of the years to come, particularly in light of unfavorable weather patterns globally.
Therefore, I implore all governments, international organisations, and both public and private organisations to take immediate action. In other words, frameworks that ensure strong, resilient food systems for future generations must be established and strengthened.
