Legumes, known as ‘food for all,’ was the topic of discussion of an international scientific conference here in Hyderabad.
The 6th International Conference on Legume Genetics and Genomics hosted by the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), opened on Wednesday , bringing together more than 500 delegates from 44 countries.
The conference is part of a series of earlier ICLGG conferences held in the US , France, Australia and Mexico, and is the first to be organised in Asia.
“Grain legumes are a cost-effective option for improving the diets of low-income consumers who cannot easily afford meat, dairy products and fish,” said ICRISAT Director-General William Dar in his inaugural address. He stressed that globally, grain legumes contribute significantly towards reducing poverty, improving food security, improving nutrition and health, and sustaining the world’s natural resource base.
Role of legume crops
Dr Swapan Datta, Deputy Director-General (Crop Science) of ICAR, highlighted the role of legume crops in India’s food security.
“Our country is the world’s largest producer and consumer of several legume crops, yet it is still a major importer of these crops,” said Dr Datta. The conference, he added, is of great significance for India in improving its domestic supply and in meeting the demand in the coming years using genomics-based modern science in legume breeding.
In his inaugural lecture, Dr Rick Dixon, Senior Vice-President and Plant Biology Division Director of Noble Foundation, highlighted the importance of understanding the basic phenomenon of legume biology, and presented an example of harnessing genomics in improving lucerne, a forage legume crop. Dr Dixon is a Member of the National Academy of Science, the world’s most prestigious science academy.
“High quality science needs to be translated in crop improvement,” said Dr Rajeev Varshney, Director of ICRISAT’s Centre of Excellence in Genomics and the Conference Chair. ICRISAT, together with national partners such as ICAR, has played a critical role in releasing several hundred improved varieties and hybrids of legumes in many developing countries of Asia and Africa. ICRISAT has also started to decode the genomes of legume crops that will enhance precision and efficiency of breeding programmes. For instance, last year, ICRISAT scientists, together with partners from more than 10 organisations worldwide, completed the genome sequencing of pigeonpea published in Nature Biotechnology , the highest impact factor journal in the area of biotechnology.
ICRISAT, together with 11 major partners, is also presently leading the CGIAR Research Programme (CRP) on Grain Legumes.