Global wheat initiative launched

TO MEET future demand for wheat, researchers say output has to double by the year 2034. While this may be far off, projects have to be put in place soon to attain the goal. The International Wheat Yield Partnership (IWYP) was recently launched at the Borlaug Summit on Wheat for Food Security in Ciudad Obregón, Mexico, as a think tank for this undertaking. It is a partnership of funders, international aid agencies, foundations and wheat research organisations, and includes the UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food of Mexico (SAGARPA) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), as the lead implementer of the United States Feed the Future initiative. They will work together with private and public funders worldwide.

“We need a collective global approach to make more wheat available. It is the most widely grown staple food crop and new varieties with increased yield will be vital to feed the world’s growing population,” said Steve Visscher, chair of the IWYP board of founding partners and BBSRC deputy chief executive.

The IWYP research programme will be the venue for new discoveries and their application in wheat crops grown throughout the world. The organisation will stimulate new research, amplify the output from existing programmes and make scientific discoveries available to farmers in developing and developed nations. It hopes to see more assistance from the private sector in order to meet its goals, and aims to secure up to $100 million over the next five years from funders and donors worldwide. Significant commitments have already been pledged from Europe, the Americas and Australia.
“By working together, IWYP members will enable scientific breakthroughs that are out of reach via existing mechanisms,” added Mr Visscher. “One focus of IWYP will be to improve wheat’s use of the sun’s energy. Other important crops, like maize, are much more efficient at turning sunlight’s energy into food.”

The World Bank estimates that global wheat production must increase by 60% between 2000 and 2050 to meet rising demand. However wheat yield increases in developed nations have slowed since 1990. Politically destabilising wheat price spikes seen in 2007–08 and 2011 are likely to be repeated if wheat production falls short of demand.