Climate change poses critical threat to global food security, scientists warn
Call for greater collaboration between laboratory scientists and farmers
Scientists from the Boyce Thompson Institute and international collaborators have published an urgent warning about the accelerating impact of climate change on global food systems. Their recommendations, published in Trends in Plant Science < doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tplants.2024.11.001 > call for a fundamental shift in how we approach climate-resilient crop development, emphasising the need for greater collaboration between laboratory scientists and farmers.
Research priorities must shift
The stark reality of climate change’s impact on agriculture has prompted an international team of researchers to call for urgent reforms in how we develop climate-resilient crops. Their paper, published in Trends in Plant Science, highlights the growing disconnect between current research approaches and the rapid pace of climate-related challenges facing global food production.
Systemic challenges require integrated solutions
“We’re in a race against time,” explained Silvia Restrepo, president of the Boyce Thompson Institute (BTI) and co-author of the paper. “The crops we depend on for food are increasingly struggling to survive extreme weather, from heat waves to droughts and floods. Meanwhile, our current approaches to developing tougher, more resilient crops simply aren’t moving fast enough.”
The researchers identify multiple concurrent challenges: crops face not only rising temperatures but also increased frequency of pest outbreaks and diseases. Even when plants survive these environmental stressors, climate change can diminish their nutritional content. The situation is further complicated by agriculture’s significant contribution to greenhouse gas emissions, estimated at 26% globally.
Funding disparities hamper progress
Perhaps most concerning is the disparity in research funding allocation. Despite agriculture’s fundamental role in human survival, merely 4% of global climate funding – approximately £35 billion annually – is directed towards developing climate-resilient food systems. This limited funding primarily benefits large-scale farming operations in developed nations, leaving smaller farms and developing countries particularly vulnerable.
“We need to completely rethink how we approach this challenge,” noted co-author Andrew Nelson, associate professor at BTI. “Instead of starting in the lab and hoping solutions work in the field, we should begin by understanding farmers’ real-world challenges and then work backward to develop practical solutions.”
Five key recommendations
The paper outlines five essential recommendations:
- Establish global research initiatives facilitating resource and expertise sharing between developed and developing nations
- Prioritise research under real-world conditions rather than solely in controlled laboratory environments
- Develop stronger collaborative relationships between laboratory scientists and farmers
- Build public trust and acceptance of new crop development technologies
- Reform regulations to accelerate the implementation of innovative solutions
International collaboration gains momentum
The recommendations emerge from the collective expertise of 21 co-authors from nine countries, brought together at the First International Summit on Plant Resilience organized by the Plant Resilience Institute earlier this year. The summit featured Michelle Heck, adjunct professor at BTI and Cornell University and Research Molecular Biologist at USDA-ARS, who presented research on preventing citrus greening disease.
The authors emphasise that addressing these challenges requires unprecedented collaboration across scientific disciplines, agricultural sectors, and geographical boundaries. Particular attention must be paid to making new technologies accessible to regions in the Global South, where climate impacts are often most severe.
A follow-up summit planned for 2026 will assess progress and adjust strategies as needed. The researchers stress that the window for incremental change has closed, and only decisive implementation of their recommendations can create agricultural systems sufficiently resilient to withstand accelerating climate impacts while ensuring food security and nutrition.
