{"id":3030143,"date":"2023-09-08T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-07T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/?page_id=3030143"},"modified":"2025-07-23T07:54:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-23T06:54:00","slug":"wheat-enhancement","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/uk-cgiar-centre\/wheat-enhancement\/","title":{"rendered":"Crop genetic improvement for future climate resilience"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Overview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Countries in the Global South with low domestic agricultural productivity, low food security and a requirement to import staples are at risk. The improvement of food staples through breeding provides an excellent route to increase agricultural productivity and food\/nutrition security, especially in systems where the use of chemical inputs such as fertilizers or pesticides is limited by affordability and access. However, traditional breeding methods are slow in the context of current global crises and often incremental, delivering too little advantage to the farmer to encourage adoption. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This project aims to address the above challenge by accelerating the breeding process and delivering higher genetic gain by adopting new breeding approaches (genome editing), exploiting novel genetic variation and developing data-driven approaches. The project integrates CGIAR and NARES breeding efforts, strengthening NARES capacity to utilize these new breeding strategies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Objectives and activities<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The purpose of this project is to deliver genetically improved, farmer-preferred varieties. This project aims to accelerate the breeding process and deliver higher genetic gain by adopting new breeding approaches (genome editing), exploiting novel genetic variation and developing data-driven approaches to breeding. This project will address the following research questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Can genome editing of susceptibility factors provide a durable source of wheat rust resistance and accelerate integration of desirable traits into farmer-preferred varieties?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Can genome editing significantly increase iron levels in wheat flour and improve iron intake of vulnerable groups in society (women and children)?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Can whole genome sequence data be effectively used to accelerate trait discovery and deployment in crop breeding programmes?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:47px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The problem<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"951\" height=\"545\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2023-11-08-100023.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3030188\" style=\"width:835px;height:522px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/Screenshot-2023-11-08-100023.png 951w, https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/Screenshot-2023-11-08-100023-300x172.png 300w, https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/Screenshot-2023-11-08-100023-768x440.png 768w, https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/Screenshot-2023-11-08-100023-600x344.png 600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 951px) 100vw, 951px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:53px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">UK Science and CGIAR<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">UK scientific institutions<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>John Innes Centre<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Norwich Institute of Sustainable Development <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">CGIAR Partners<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>ICARDA<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>CIMMYT<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Local Partners<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Kenya Agriculture and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Agricultural Research Centre (ARC), Egypt<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Qauid-I-Azam University (QAU), Pakistan<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:50px\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Where the research teams will work<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The project will implement activities in Kenya, Egypt, and Pakistan through NARES partners. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"574\" src=\"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Screenshot-2023-09-08-104636-1024x574.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-3030189\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/Screenshot-2023-09-08-104636-1024x574.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/Screenshot-2023-09-08-104636-300x168.png 300w, https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/Screenshot-2023-09-08-104636-768x430.png 768w, https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/Screenshot-2023-09-08-104636-600x336.png 600w, https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/\/Screenshot-2023-09-08-104636.png 1142w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview Countries in the Global South with low domestic agricultural productivity, low food security and a requirement to import staples are at risk. The improvement of food staples through breeding provides an excellent route to increase agricultural productivity and food\/nutrition security, especially in systems where the use of chemical inputs such as fertilizers or pesticides&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":3030156,"parent":3030059,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"section":[3834],"pathway":[],"class_list":["post-3030143","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","section-uk-cgiar"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Crop genetic improvement for future climate resilience - CABI.org<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/uk-cgiar-centre\/wheat-enhancement\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Crop genetic improvement for future climate resilience - CABI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Overview Countries in the Global South with low domestic agricultural productivity, low food security and a requirement to import staples are at risk. The improvement of food staples through breeding provides an excellent route to increase agricultural productivity and food\/nutrition security, especially in systems where the use of chemical inputs such as fertilizers or pesticides&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/uk-cgiar-centre\/wheat-enhancement\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"CABI.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CABI.development\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-07-23T06:54:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/dna-helix_CHEZDDXUJY.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"960\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"640\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@CABI_News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/uk-cgiar-centre\/wheat-enhancement\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/uk-cgiar-centre\/wheat-enhancement\/\",\"name\":\"Crop genetic improvement for future climate resilience - CABI.org\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/uk-cgiar-centre\/wheat-enhancement\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/uk-cgiar-centre\/wheat-enhancement\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/dna-helix_CHEZDDXUJY.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-07T23:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-07-23T06:54:00+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/uk-cgiar-centre\/wheat-enhancement\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/uk-cgiar-centre\/wheat-enhancement\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/uk-cgiar-centre\/wheat-enhancement\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/dna-helix_CHEZDDXUJY.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/dna-helix_CHEZDDXUJY.jpg\",\"width\":960,\"height\":640},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/\",\"name\":\"CABI.org\",\"description\":\"Improving lives by solving problems in agriculture and the environment\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Crop genetic improvement for future climate resilience - CABI.org","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/uk-cgiar-centre\/wheat-enhancement\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Crop genetic improvement for future climate resilience - CABI.org","og_description":"Overview Countries in the Global South with low domestic agricultural productivity, low food security and a requirement to import staples are at risk. The improvement of food staples through breeding provides an excellent route to increase agricultural productivity and food\/nutrition security, especially in systems where the use of chemical inputs such as fertilizers or pesticides&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/uk-cgiar-centre\/wheat-enhancement\/","og_site_name":"CABI.org","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CABI.development","article_modified_time":"2025-07-23T06:54:00+00:00","og_image":[{"width":960,"height":640,"url":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/dna-helix_CHEZDDXUJY.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@CABI_News","twitter_misc":{"Estimated reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/uk-cgiar-centre\/wheat-enhancement\/","url":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/uk-cgiar-centre\/wheat-enhancement\/","name":"Crop genetic improvement for future climate resilience - CABI.org","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/uk-cgiar-centre\/wheat-enhancement\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/uk-cgiar-centre\/wheat-enhancement\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/dna-helix_CHEZDDXUJY.jpg","datePublished":"2023-09-07T23:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2025-07-23T06:54:00+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/uk-cgiar-centre\/wheat-enhancement\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/uk-cgiar-centre\/wheat-enhancement\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/uk-cgiar-centre\/wheat-enhancement\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/dna-helix_CHEZDDXUJY.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/dna-helix_CHEZDDXUJY.jpg","width":960,"height":640},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/","name":"CABI.org","description":"Improving lives by solving problems in agriculture and the environment","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3030143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3030143"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3030143\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/3030059"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3030156"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3030143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3030143"},{"taxonomy":"section","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/section?post=3030143"},{"taxonomy":"pathway","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cabi.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pathway?post=3030143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}