To secure food for the world’s growing population even prior to the pandemic, agriculture already needs to produce more with less which means more in terms of yield, income, and social inclusivity, and less in terms of unnecessary inputs, energy consumption, and environmental impacts. It suggests the importance of the demand and the supply chain in research and development (R&D) specifically in biotechnology. On the demand side, we should ask what people would really need from R&D in biotechnology. On the supply side, we should ask what we should expect to be generated from biotechnology. This talk will present the proposed key priority areas for research in agricultural biotechnology and allied fields to accelerate the transformation of the agriculture sector and to strengthen its contribution to food security and socio-economic development, particularly toward long-term resilience against pandemics. This talk will also suggest a process in implementing a modern breeding program that considers practical factors like developing a crop master plan where breeding strategies will be laid out while taking into account the logistical constraints in regulatory issues. In the implementation proper, an integrated breeding platform towards speeding genetic gain must be in place. This platform includes the creation of an interdisciplinary crop breeding team and automation, shortening the breeding cycles (e.g., genomic selection strategy, gene-editing), and strengthening collaboration between the academic community and commercial crop breeders. We are the key players in society’s ability to achieve the aspired food and nutrition security and economic development. But we can aspire to contribute beyond economic development that is sustainable, inclusive, environment-friendly, and most importantly, resilient to current and future pandemics and other unanticipated disruptions. Thus, we proposed an active engagement in Academe-Industry- Government (AIG) interconnectivity models on biotechnology research collaboration and co-sharing of financial resources to shorten the gap between research and knowledge utilization, including contextualizing research projects within the agricultural value chain.
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