Proceedings of the Regional Consultation on improving wheat productivity in Asia; Bangkok (Thailand); 26-27 Apr 2012

Abstract

Wheat is the second largest food security crop in Asia. Recent estimates indicate that world will need around 1090 million tons of wheat by 2050 from its current production level of 680 million tons. To meet this demand, developing countries should increase their wheat production by 77 per cent and more than 80 per cent of demand should come from vertical expansion. Taking the above facts in view, FAO and APAARI in collaboration with CIMMYT, ICARDA and JIRCAS organized a “Regional Consultation on Improving Wheat Productivity in Asia” on 26-27 April, 2012 in Bangkok, Thailand to apprise the member countries on the current status of wheat research and development, share experiences, and develop strategies to enhance wheat production to meet the projected demand by 2050. The countries that participated in the regional consultation included Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, China, DPR Korea, India, Iran, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Thailand and Uzbekistan. A total of 53 participants including the representatives of CIMMYT, ICARDA, JIRCAS, APAARI, FAO, regional NARS, NGOs, CSOs, farmers and the private sector attended. The two day consultation was divided into inaugural session, five technical sessions, two working group discussions and a plenary session. A total of 26 scientific papers were presented which pertained to five thematic areas: i) strategy for increasing wheat productivity, ii) national and regional wheat scenario, iii) managing wheat diseases, iv) stakeholders dialogue on CRP 3.1 (Wheat), and v) addressing emerging challenges. Besides, two working groups were formed to discuss both research and development related issues. The presentations on strategy for increasing wheat productivity addressed the major research efforts made for breaking yield barriers through germplasm sharing, prebreeding, conventional breeding, collaborative/ regional testing, and use of new tools and techniques like precision phenotyping, biotechnology, etc. In order to address the emerging climate change scenario, greater focus was stressed on developing biotic and abiotic stress tolerant varieties and resilient management practices for wheat production system. The need to explore new opportunities of GM and hybrid wheat with more than 30 per cent heterosis was also highlighted. The technical session on national/regional wheat scenario mostly covered the importance of exchange of germplasm with specific traits (biotic, abiotic stress tolerance) and their collective evaluation and sharing of results. For this, a need was felt to establish a regional platform/alliance for advancement and sharing of new knowledge, germplasm, tools, techniques and practices, for example, stress tolerant germplasm, conservation agriculture based practices, use of small farm machinery, and capacity building, etc. The disease management strategies were also discussed elaborately. It was highlighted that diseases are not confined within the borders of a particular country and hence, it was considered important to take collective and coordinated action at the regional level for survey, surveillance and early warning. It was also cautioned that emerging diseases are a concern which require institutions like FAO to take lead in terms of awareness that can mobilize resources to tackle the problem. The session on stakeholders dialogue on CGIAR Research Program on CRP 3.1 (Wheat) which was officially launched in January 2012, was led by CIMMYT. It was pointed out that through the new CRP, an opportunity for collaboration and sharing research strategies and knowledge has emerged. As 50 per cent of wheat is grown in Asia-Pacific region, major support from this program should come to this region. A strong partnership around this program was recommended in order to reap the maximum benefits through involvement of all stakeholders. In the last session on addressing emerging challenges, the resource persons advocated promotion of conservation agriculture (CA) and highlighted major issues under the conventional tillage based production systems and how CA can help in addressing these issues. Also, issues of adaptation and mitigation to climate change were discussed in detail. The key highlights of regional consultation on wheat were summarized in the concluding session. Three major areas highlighted for focussed attention included policy, research and development for enhancing productivity of wheat in Asia. It was emphasized that there is a need to develop and popularize wheat cultivars that can withstand the adversaries of weather and soil. The global, regional and country specific research needs would require higher investments, close regional collaboration and mutual understanding to address future threats and constraints in order to ensure food security. Long-term research and development needs must also be kept in view. It was emphasized that food and nutritional security for the people of Asian region could be addressed through increased production of wheat and rice. There is also a need for enhanced focus on the use of alien species, hybrid technology and biotechnology. Environmentally sustainable small farm mechanization requiring support from all the stakeholders also needs to be given due attention. Therefore, regional cooperation among FAO, APAARI, CG Centers like CIMMYT and ICARDA, ASEAN and SAARC is extremely necessary to exchange ideas and learn from each other’s experiences. Various action points and recommendations pertaining to the establishment of a Regional Alliance on Wheat (RAW) through facilitation by FAO, APAARI and CIMMYT and to develop a Road Map for future directions for research, development and policy issues emerged. These proceedings cover the details of various deliberations and recommendations emanating from the regional consultation on wheat.