Southern Highlands Branch Meeting 2023-7

“Can plant breeding help us manage the challenges of climate change and food insecurity?”

Professor Richard Trethowan
Director, Plant Breeding Institute
Sydney Institute of Agriculture
University of Sydney

Date: Thursday, 17 August 2023, 6.30 – 7.30 pm AEST 
Venue: RSL Mittagong, Carrington Room
All are welcome

Summary: As agricultural production systems become increasingly marginal in many parts of the world, will genetic technologies continue to play a significant role in mitigating the impacts of climate change? The Green Revolution saw crop productivity skyrocket in most agricultural systems, however, the rate of increase in productivity has largely plateaued since the turn of the century. The extent to which plant breeding can meet these future challenges will be discussed using wheat, Australia’s major grain crop, as an example.

Richard Trethowan holds the Chair of Plant Breeding and is currently Director of the Plant Breeding Institute in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Sydney. He has extensive experience in international agriculture, particularly in wheat breeding and genetics. He has led many national and international initiatives that aim to improve the productivity, sustainability, and profitability of agricultural systems. In 2021, he was awarded the Royal Society of NSW Poggendorff Lectureship.