(AUSTRALIA)
Developing crops that are resilient and can fight disease is vital to support a growing global population.
And Australia is taking the lead in finding the necessary solutions. A new $3 million Crop Research Hub in Western Australia, a collaboration between Murdoch University, Curtin University and the WA Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD), will focus on improving the disease resistance and productivity levels of crops.
“This innovative project will draw on the specialist research skills from each party to develop new research in crop pathology, plant physiology and genetic improvement,” said Barnaby Joyce, Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources. “The outcomes of this research will be applied to improve crop productivity and resistance to disease.”
Researchers from the Australian National University (ANU) also recently announced the discovery of a method for making plants more resilient in drought conditions; a breakthrough that could improve farming productivity not just in Australia, but potentially in other countries that suffer from drought stress.
With a growing global population, set to reach around 10 billion by the middle of the century, innovations like these are vital.
