Articles
CONSERVATION AND UTILISATION OF HORTICULTURAL GENETIC RESOURCES FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE – ISSUES AND CONSTRAINTS
Biological resources are renewable resources, but they are being exploited at rates that exceed their sustainable yield.
Human destruction of habitats, whether exploited for commercial or subsistence reasons, is the greatest threat.
Genetic diversity is not evenly distributed over the globe; it is in fact concentrated in tropical and sub-tropical areas, where most developing countries are located.
Plant genetic resources are of an inestimable value, and will continue to be in the future, independently of whether scientists use them by means of conventional plant breeding or modern genetic engineering.
The importance of plant genetic resources as the ultimate source of food is enormous.
Their loss constitutes a serious threat to world food security.
On the basis of recent estimates, in developing countries alone, the production of food will need to increase by about 60% in the next 25–30 years in order to keep pace with demographic growth.
It is not possible to think that this increase of production can be achieved only by increasing the yield per hectare, with indiscriminate use of chemical fertilisers or pesticides.
The possibilities of extending the areas used for agriculture are relatively limited and the yield capacity of some major staple food crops are reaching a plateau.
The ecological and economic consequences of increased use of agro-chemicals and irrigation development, are posing new threats to the sustainability of agriculture.
To reach the objective of increased food production, certainly it is necessary to explore opportunities for diversifying the crop base of agriculture, which in turn can be reached as an outcome of the sustainable exploitation of our plant genetic diversity.
In this regard, horticultural crop development could indeed represent an important component of a global plan of action for improving food security, provided that coordinated research policies and adequate investments are addressed to improving the productivity of traditional and subsistence horticultural crops.
Horticultural crops are only part of the total genetic diversity, nonetheless they can contribute greatly both to satisfying food security and to integrating and diversifying dietary needs of humankind.
In fact, in many regions of the world, horticultural crops are important staple food crops.
In developing countries where hunger prevails, primary importance is often given to the production of basic food crops, whereas the improvement of traditional horticultural subsistence crops – many of which are also rich in proteins, fats and carbohydrates – is too often neglected.