Plant Genetic Resources
Plant genetic resources underpin the ability of cropping systems to cope with changes, whether environmental or socioeconomic. They are crucial for sustainable agrifood systems and in ensuring the livelihoods of farmers.
Plant genetic diversity provides a huge reservoir of adaptive traits, some of which can help meet future challenges, including global warming or new disease outbreaks. However, this reservoir is threatened by “genetic erosion”, a term coined by scientists to describe the loss of individual genes or alleles, and of combinations of genes, such as those found in locally adapted farmers’ varieties and landraces. The main cause of genetic erosion is the replacement of local varieties by modern varieties. In addition, the introduction of commercial varieties into traditional farming systems often leads to a reduction in the number of varieties grown. Other causes of genetic erosion include climate change, the emergence of pests, weeds and diseases, environmental degradation, urbanization and land clearing through deforestation and bush fires.
A significant amount of wild plant diversity is also important for food and agriculture. Wild food plants are important parts of many people’s diets, while crop wild relatives are a rich reservoir of novel traits that can be used to develop resilient and more nutritious and productive crop varieties. Unfortunately, many of these wild plants are also increasingly at risk, threatened by habitat loss through the destruction and degradation of natural environments.
There is, therefore, an urgent need to ensure the appropriate conservation and sustainable use of both cultivated and wild plant genetic resources at global, regional, national and local levels. Cultivated crop diversity such as farmers’ varieties and landraces is often managed on-farm, usually by smallholder farmers. Wild plant genetic resources can only be conserved effectively in situ in their natural environments, where adaptation can continue to occur. This may include conservation in protected areas. Complementary ex situ conservation in genebanks provides a safety backup for these genetic resources and also provides easier access to them for use, for example in breeding programmes.
Since its establishment in 1983, the Commission has helped coordinate and guide a series of international initiatives that have raised awareness of the erosion of plant genetic resources. It has also spearheaded policy-level efforts to promote their conservation.
The Commission, the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and the Crop Trust contribute in different, but mutually supportive, ways to the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources.
Main outcomes CGRFA-20:
- The Third Report on the State of the World’s Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture welcomed
- Recommendation that FAO finalize the two practical guides for the implementation of the Genebank Standards for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
- Recommendation that FAO continue operating and further developing the World Information and Early Warning System on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (WIEWS)
- Recommendation that FAO prepare a revised Second Global Plan of Action for review
Key publications
Globally 391 000 vascular plant species have been described.
Over 6 000 species have been cultivated for food and agriculture, but fewer than 200 species have significant production levels globally.
Only 9 species supply nearly 66 percent of our total crop production.
Working Group on PGR
Interactive story
Publications
- Voluntary Guidelines for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Farmers’ Varieties/Landraces
- Voluntary Guidelines for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Crop Wild Relatives and Wild Food Plants
- Guidelines for Developing a National Strategy for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
- Genebank Standards for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
- Practical Guides for the application of the Genebank Standards for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture