Genetic resources for climate adaptation

17:30 - 18:30 ON NOVEMBER 12 AT THE FOOD PAVILION – Co-convened by ICARDA and the Global Crop Diversity Trust (Crop Trust), this event will reflect on the crop diversity’s conserved in Genebanks, a significant role in food system adaptation to climate change, which increasingly puts our global food systems at risk through impacts such as extreme temperatures, continuously evolving pests and diseases, and water scarcity. Genebanks offer a rich source of climate-smart plant genetic traits in both landraces and wild relatives that can help make food and feed crops more climate-resilient through a range of tools and approaches in adaptive breeding for developing new climate-smart varieties of globally important crops. 

The event will include 2 presentations from CGIAR Genebanks and Crop Trust, as well as oral contributions from other panelists, followed by a dynamic discussion between the audience and the panelists. Speakers will attend in person, while audiences may attend in person or virtually.

Speakers

• Mr Aly Abousabaa - CGIAR Regional Director CWANA / Director General ICARDA
• Yemi Akinbamijo - Executive Director of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA)
• Mariana Yazbek - Scientist & Genebank Manager, ICARDA / Lead, CGIAR Genebanks Initiative
• Sarada Krishnan - Director of Programs, Crop Trust
• Andy Jarvis - Director for Future of Food at Bezos Earth Fund
• Mary Margaret McRae - Head of Partnerships and Resource Mobilisation, ICARDA