Breakthroughs in gene editing, robotics, AI-driven breeding, and citizen science are accelerating crop innovation, transforming it into a major growth industry that can support the global response to climate change, according to a new report from Clim-Eat.
Next-Generation Crops: A 30-Year Horizon argues that today’s plant scientists are able work faster and smarter than ever, opening the door to resilient new crops and farming systems that could help secure the future of agriculture.
It comes as the world faces projected temperature rises of up to 2.5°C by the end of the century. This could redraw the agricultural map, with Canada, Russia, and China expected to open vast new areas for cereal production, while some regions become too dry or inundated by saltwater to sustain crops. Climate change is already driving significant changes in crop choices, management systems, and irrigation, with the replacement of some cereals with tree crops and the rise of high-value fruit and vegetable farming in deserts and cities. Increasing bioenergy production, afforestation, and the growth in carbon markets could intensify competition for land and resources.
“We’re expecting rampant hunger – not just for food crops, but for carbon capture, clean energy and biodiversity conservation,” said climate scientist Dr Sonja Vermeulen, author of the report and a Senior Adviser at Clim-Eat. “There will be trade-offs galore.”
She continued: “It means crop innovation is set to become a massive opportunity and growth industry. To best prepare for this, we need to show which innovations can be picked up and scaled. This report makes clear where researchers, policymakers and funders should focus.”
The report presents a range of cutting-edge crop breeding opportunities, such as work to develop plants that can fix more atmospheric nitrogen, be grown under the shade of solar panels, and that have a “supercharged” capacity for photosynthesis. It describes manipulation of the soil microbiome to support crop productivity as an area likely to see “explosive growth” in the coming decades, as well as significant potential to develop enhanced relationships between crops, fungi and bacteria. It also notes opportunities for crops grown indoors, in deserts, in cities, in seawater, and even in “fog” (actually a fine, carefully controlled, nutrient-rich mist used in fogponics systems).
It also highlights the role of underutilised “opportunity crops” – those that have not benefitted from decades of scientific research provided to key staples like rice, wheat and maize. Rich in micronutrients and able to tolerate harsh environments, crops like amaranth, Bambara groundnut and finger millet already support diverse diets and enable farmers in some areas adapt to climate change and could be scaled up. Other opportunity crops can be used in bioenergy production, or as forages bred to produce less methane.
The report calls for action in multiple areas, and calls for policymakers, researchers, businesses, NGOs, and farmers to collaborate so that innovations align with equitable access, real-world testing, and long-term sustainability.
Next-Generation Crops: A 30-Year Horizon is published today. It is part of Clim-Eat’s work with the Bezos Earth Fund to identify emerging technologies in food systems (available at foodsystems.tech). The site focuses on exciting innovations in three domains critical to future food systems: sustainable livestock, plant nutrition, and next-generation crops.
