Plant genetic resources: What can they contribute toward increased crop productivity?

To feed a world population growing by up to 160 people per minute, with >90 % of them in developing countries, will require an astonishing increase in food production. Forecasts call for wheat to become the most important cere al in the world, with maize close behind; together, these crops will accoun t for approximate to 80% of developing countries' cereal import requirement s. Access to a range of genetic diversity is critical to the success of bre eding programs. The global effort to assemble, document, and utilize these resources is enormous, and the genetic diversity in the collections is crit ical to the world's fight against hunger. The introgression of genes that r educed plant height and increased disease and viral resistance in wheat pro vided the foundation for the "Green Revolution" and demonstrated the tremen dous impact that genetic resources can have on production. Wheat hybrids an d synthetics may provide the yield increases needed in the future. A wild r elative of maize, Tripsacum, represents an untapped genetic resource for ab iotic and biotic stress resistance and for apomixis, a trait that could pro vide developing world farmers access to hybrid technology. Ownership of gen etic resources and genes must be resolved to ensure global access to these critical resources. The application of molecular and genetic engineering te chnologies enhances the use of genetic resources. The effective and complem entary use of all of our technological tools and resources will be required for meeting the challenge posed by the world's expanding demand for food.