As part of the Agriculture Innovation Mission for Climate (AIM for Climate) Roadshow at the 27th annual UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP27), FFAR and its partners hosted a webinar to discuss the Fast Tracking Climate Solutions from CGIAR Genebank Collections program. FFAR, CGIAR and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation launched this public-private partnership to expand CGIAR and other organizations’ crop improvement research. This $40 million initiative is unlocking key climate-resilient traits by strengthening the identification of high-value genetic diversity from germplasm collections and more efficiently leveraging this diversity to develop new varieties of climate-resilient crops.
FFAR Scientific Program Director Dr. Jeffrey Rosichan moderated this webinar and the panelists include:
During the webinar, panelists discussed the research, initial findings and how this important work advances COP27’s goals and protects supply chains. The webinar concluded with Q&A.
The most dangerous impact of climate change is the disruption of global agriculture and food systems through disasters such as drought, heat and flooding. These disruptions, including decreased agricultural production and reduced harvests, are hardest on the approximately half a billion smallholder farmers living on less than two dollars a day. Individual farms, including smallholder farms, make up a majority of the world’s farmers and producers. Losses on these farms due to climate change have a ripple effect on the global food supply, increasing food costs and worsening food insecurity and malnutrition. This initiative is key to developing new crop varieties adapted to the stresses of climate change, and scientists have already developed critical traits using them.
The Fast Tracking Climate Solutions from CGIAR Genebank Collections program was included as one of AIM for Climate’s original Innovation Sprints.