South Australian scientists are leading an international project aimed at assisting farmers in marginal food environments to adapt to the impact of climate change.
Researchers from the South Australian Research and Development Institute (SARDI) have joined forces with the Crop Trust, a non-profit international organisation dedicated to conserving crop diversity and harnessing it to improve food security worldwide.
Under the Crop Trust's 'Biodiversity for Opportunities, Livelihoods and Development (BOLD)' Project, SARDI will lead a three-year effort to use wild relatives of alfalfa (Medicago sativa or lucerne) to improve alfalfa varieties available to producers in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Pakistan.
The development of the new alfalfa varieties within this project is aimed at expanding the livestock rearing and forage production opportunities for smallholder farmers in these countries, improving their resilience to lower rainfall and higher temperature changes associated with variable climate.
The project is the latest joint initiative between SARDI and the Crop Trust, following an earlier joint six-year project looking into drought-tolerant alfalfa varieties.
The BOLD Project aims to strengthen food and nutrition security worldwide by supporting the conservation and use of crop diversity. Managed by Crop Trust, the program is implemented in partnership with national and international genebanks and plant breeding institutes around the world.
For further information on the alfalfa research project, go to the BOLD Project.
