The problem of preserving the wild relatives of crop species as a vital gene bank was highlighted in the European Parliament at a special hearing of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs committee.

The hearing in Brussels was organised by committee member Anthea McIntyre, Conservative MEP for the West Midlands, and featured a key note address by Dr. Nigel Maxted, senior lecturer at Birmingham University and an expert in conservation techniques.

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The wild species may contain many useful traits, such as drought tolerance or resilience to pests and diseases.

For example, Aegilops tauschii,(below) the wild relative of wheat, is resistant to the Hessian fly, which is a pest of cereal crops; Saccharum arundinaceum, a relative of sugar cane, can survive very low temperatures; Prunus ferganensis, the wild version of peach, is tolerant to droughts.

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Dr Maxted stressed: "If we want to use CWRs in the future we have to conserve them now.

"We need a full programme of diversity conservation, integrated at local, national, international and global level."

Mr Maxsted has previously said: "The global population is now 7.3 billion and by 2050 it will be 9.6 billion, so it is now even more crucial that we conserve crop wild relatives as part of the wider need to address global food security issues

"It is very important that we conserve these species in secure gene banks, but it is also critical to conserve them in their natural habitat as well so they will continue to adapt to changes in the climate as well as threats from pests and diseases".

 
Miss McIntyre, whose successful parliamentary report on Agricultural Technology last year highlighted the importance of genetic diversity, said the hearing had exceeded all her expectations.

She said:  "There is a very direct link between food security and bio-diversity.

"I wonder whether the stewardship section of the Common Agricultural Policy should be adapted specifically to encourage the conservativation of CWRs. This seems like a positive way to  incentivise farmers to make a difference."

Other speakers included Susanne Barth, research associate at Trinity College, Dublin, and Nicolas Roux, genetic resources conservationist at Biodiversity International.