From Bill Adams, Department of Geography, University of Cambridge
Your timely commentary on hunger neglected to mention the fact that the rapid spread of wheat rust reflects the way that plant breeding to create successful “green revolution” crops has narrowed their genetic base (15 March, p 5 and report, p 14). Nor did you mention that much public crop-breeding science has now been privatised. Poor farmers have become deeply dependent on manufactured seeds, and vulnerable to their weaknesses.
We need crop science to pay more attention to resilience, and to serve public interests before private ones. The question is, how to make that happen when there is little profit in selling seeds to the destitute.
Cambridge, UK
