Plant and Animal Genome XXIV Conference

January 08 - 13, 2016

3125

Increasing Genetic Gains for Food Security in the Developing World

Humanity is facing one of its greatest challenges – to ensure food security for 9 billion people by 2050. This will require unprecedented increases in agricultural production and productivity in the face of climate change. Failure to achieve this presents the greatest risk to the most vulnerable populations in the developing world, which are already food insecure. Applications of genomics offer the promise of transforming breeding strategies and advancing genetic gains. Unfortunately, this potential has not been fully exploited in many breeding programs, particularly those in the developing world. This workshop is co-sponsored by the US Agency for International Development, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and the UK Department for International Development. Its purpose is threefold: 1) to gather input from the international research community on applications of genomics that are transforming breeding strategies, 2) to understand current challenges and gaps, and 3) to define optimal strategies for applying genomics tools and emerging technologies to achieve genetic gain increases in crops and livestock in developing country breeding programs.