Plant Breeding: A Tool for Achieving Food Sufficiency

Abstract

The quest to achieve food sufficiency is of global concern. Inadequate food supply in many countries is mainly addressed through the breeding of productive crops and creating more desirable environments which enhance growth and development to increase food production. At the dawn of this new millennium, humanity has a remarkable opportunity, to sustain development through better crop improvement and sustainable management of biodiversity. Improved performance of plants may be manifested in higher yields, tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses and superior sensory or nutritional quality. Because plant breeders’ breed for such wide range of traits, biodiversity is a crucial resource for the success and sustainability of any plant breeding programme. Since the commencement of plant breeding some 12,000 years ago, farmers and breeders have depended on the existence of diversity within species to select for superior varieties. The cumulative effects of the rudimentary actions of these ancient farmers in particular over several generations and the sifting of existing biodiversity by nature (natural selection) gave rise to the crops we know and grow today. The advancement in knowledge of the science of genetics in refining the art of selection evolved into what is today a Hi-tech Profession-Plant Breeding. Conventional Plant breeding methods have been used to develop most of the horticultural crops cultivated around the world today. These methods include selection, mutation, hybridization, and polyploidy. In this era of genomic revolution, biotechnology tools including molecular markers and recombinant DNA techniques are being used to develop many crops including horticultural crops. This chapter discusses the contributions and approaches of plant breeding in horticultural production systems and its importance in attaining food sufficiency especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

Conclusion

Food self-sufficiency cannot be achieved without plant breeding . Over the years, the horticultural industry has benefited immensely from the breeding of improved varieties. Thousands of varieties of horticultural crops have been bred for various characters including higher yields, tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses and end-user traits. However, many challenges still exist especially in the area of changing consumer preferences and emerging pest and diseases. The challenge with biotic and abiotic stresses is expected to become worse with climate change . Plant breeders in sub-Saharan Africa must therefore combine conventional and biotechnology approaches in order to develop varieties that will meet current and future challenges.