Genetic vulnerability and crop loss: The case for research on underutilized and alternative crops

Abstract

The confluence of global climate change and population growth has brought to greater focus the question of how to satisfy future demand for food and fiber necessary to sustain current standards of living. Inevitably, agriculture will be called upon to do more at a time when established crops and cropping systems must confront new environmental and socio-economic challenges. Current efforts to preserve and characterize crop wild relatives and other genetic resources that could help crops meet future biotic and abiotic challenges are a direct response to the question. This chapter not only reiterates the importance of in situ and ex situ genetic conservation, it draws attention to the urgent need for investment in research on underutilized and alternative crops. The urgency relates directly to the fact that most of these crops are found in global biodiversity hotspots that are currently undergoing rapid environmental and socio-economic change.