The dry bean breeder and professor at McGill University, Valerio Hoyos-Villegas, is one of several researchers who conducted a recent study that found a shortage of scientists specializing in plant breeding. That could have serious consequences for global food security, including Canada.
The collaborative study by McGill University in Quebec, Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), and Lincoln University in New Zealand sheds light on the critical shortage of plant breeding expertise, painting a worrying picture for the future.
The study emphasizes the need to address this skills gap to sustain agricultural, food, fiber, feed, and fuel production. Consisting of two separate surveys, the study found a troubling trend: 66% of survey respondents stated that they noticed a reduction in the number of breeders involved in cultivar development and 64% observed a decline in the number of field breeders.
For Hoyos-Villegas, this perceived shortage is personal. He's preparing to change positions and move from Québec to the United States, where he will lead the dry bean breeding program at Michigan State University (MSU).
"To be working in the agricultural research sector while facing a breeder shortage is a challenge, but also an opportunity. Anyone stepping into this space would be in the perfect position to make a big impact," he says.
Read more at seedworld.com