Institutional aspects of genetic resources in respect to climate change in sub-saharan Africa

Abstract

Genetic resources are central to strengthening food security and building a more-resilient agricultural system in the face of climate change. They underpin today’s production and provide the raw material needed for the challenges of tomorrow. The speed and complexity of climate change pose new constraints that are expected to make the task of achieving food security more challenging in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). By 2080, viable arable land for production is predicted to decline, with 9-20 % of arable land becoming much less suitable for agriculture, and SSA is predicted to become the most food insecure region, with 40-50 % of undernourished people globally inhabiting the region, compared with 24 % today. Hence, there is the need to develop varieties that are well adapted to a new and unstable environment. Developing these new crop varieties with traits adaptive to present and future climatic stresses envisaged in SSA will increase the demand for genetic resources. Unfortunately, climate change also threatens the sustainable existence of agricultural biodiversity, increasing genetic erosion of landraces and threatening crop wild relatives. Adequate attention should, therefore, be given to collection, conservation, sharing, and use of genetic resources to mitigate climate change and be aimed at developing timely interventions across national borders. Institutional aspects toward sustainable conservation and use of this reservoir of genetic resources should be enhanced and clear strategies put in place. This presentation will review and focus on the national and regional capacity framework to provide an understanding of the institutional aspects of the adaptive capacity toward the conservation and use of genetic resources in relation to climate change in SSA.