A new wheat research information resource has been launched by the BBSRC in a bid to help coordinate worldwide research efforts in the fields of wheat genetics, genomics, physiology, breeding and agronomy.

The biotechnology council unveiled a new website on Tuesday, which it said would provide the central hub for the ‘Wheat Initiative’ with the aim of enabling experts to “coordinate wheat research programmes and contribute to food security across the globe.”

The BBSRC said its main impetus for creating the initiative has been predictions made by organisations including the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, which has said yields of staple crops such as wheat need to increase by an estimated 60 per cent from 2005 levels in order to adequately feed an expected world population of 9 billion by 2050.

BBSRC said wheat demand is expected to increase by 70 per cent by the middle of the century and, in order to meet the demand, annual wheat yield increases must grow from the current level of below 1 per cent to at least 1.7 per cent. The council said its initiative will coordinate research to produce improved wheat varieties, disseminate better agronomic practises worldwide, and help farmers to stably produce more and better wheat in diverse production environments to achieve global food security.

BBSRC hopes the initiative, which is the result of a proposal made by G20 agriculture ministers last year, will be able to inform international policy makers by providing a forum to which international researchers can contribute and share research and development ideas and goals.

Steve Visscher, BBSRC Deputy Chief Executive, said, "There is a world-wide need to increase wheat yield and improve tolerance to stresses, diseases and pests. Coordinated research can also help us to improve the efficiency of farming inputs for more sustainable wheat production. The Wheat Initiative will help to combat this grand challenge by exchanging knowledge, identifying synergies and encouraging collaborations among major wheat research programs. An important element of the Initiative is that it brings together both researchers and the various funding agencies involved in wheat research."

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