Our sub-Programme assists national plant breeding programmes to use mutation techniques and modern biotechnologies for
developing better varieties of major and under-exploited food and industrial crops. The overall aim is to increase food
security and sustainable crop production by improving yields and quality for domestic use and export markets, and by
enhancing crop diversification and biodiversity.
The main emphasis is on:
We give particular attention to cereals, legumes, oil - seed crops, vegetative crops
and neglected crops such as sesame, tef, kenaf, cuphea, sweet potato, cassava and quinoa.
We give support and guidance to the staff of National Agricultural Research
Systems (NARS) through co-ordinating international and regional Research
Projects which promote national and international action and co-operative
efforts in plant mutation techniques and related biotechnologies. This
is done in collaboration with FAO's
Plant Production and Protection Division (AGP) and with International
Agricultural Research Centres (IARCs) and by providing support to Technical
Co-operation Projects and Training Courses
which focus on capacity building and adoption of new technologies. We
operate research, training and other support services from the Plant
Breeding Laboratory at the FAO/IAEA
Agriculture and Biotechnology Laboratory, Seibersdorf and promote
information sharing by organizing symposia, seminars and workshops, commissioning
thematic papers, and disseminating the results of these and other activities
through publications, including a
newsletter. We also maintain a mutant varieties database.
