Stefan Schmitz, Executive Director of the Crop Trust, makes the case that gene banks and crop genetic diversity — including wild relatives and forgotten varieties — are a foundational resource for the next generation of plant breeding innovation.
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What if future breeding depends as much on genetic diversity as it does on breeding programs?
In this Seed World Insight interview, Stefan Schmitz, Executive Director of the Crop Trust, discusses why gene banks, crop diversity, and plant genetic resources may play a larger role in the future of plant breeding than many realize.
Gene Banks, Crop Diversity, and the Future of Innovation
As climate change, emerging diseases, and evolving market demands place new pressures on agriculture, breeders need access to as broad a range of genetic traits as possible to develop crops suited to changing conditions.
For this reason, gene banks represent far more than conservation facilities. “They aren’t museums,” says Schmitz.
He argues that repositories of diverse genetics, including genetics from yesterday’s varieties and wild relatives, serve as a foundation for innovation. As breeders search for new sources of resilience, adaptation, and performance, access to crop wild relatives and underutilized varieties may become increasingly important. These genetic resources often contain traits that can help crops withstand environmental stress, pests, diseases, and other emerging threats.
Watch the full interview as Schmitz explores the growing importance of gene banks, the role of public-private collaboration in conserving genetic resources, and why access to genetic diversity may become one of the seed sector’s most important strategic advantages in the years ahead.
The post The Next Breeding Breakthrough Could Come From a Variety Nobody Uses Anymore appeared first on Seed World.