ABSTRACT
Managing plant genetic resources for sustainable use in food and agriculture is a current and pressing policy objective from the standpoints of supporting productivity, reducing poverty and protecting the environment. Agriculture faces several challenges: the sector is under pressure not only to produce agricultural goods for rapidly growing populations, but also to meet food and livelihood security for large numbers of rural poor, while reducing negative impacts on the environment. Climate change exacerbates these challenges, requiring that agricultural systems adapt in order to sustain, let alone increase, production. Some of the necessary responses to climate change will place additional burdens on agriculture, whether through the demand for biofuels or the need to maintain carbon sinks by reducing the amount of land made available for agriculture.
