A LEADING wheat breeder has said the Russia-Ukraine conflict has highlighted global complacency about food security.
"We can see just how big an impact a loss of one production region can have across the globe," said Alison Bentley, global wheat program leader with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT, in line with its Spanish acronym).
Speaking at the annual conference hosted by not-for-profit food security advocate the Crawford Fund Dr Bentley said improving research and development into growing grain was only part of the equation.
"It is an interesting time in research at present because we need to be thinking of more than just the food production, we need to be thinking about where that production is happening," she said.
"At present the issue is not so much about producing enough food to feed the world but producing it in the right areas and ensuring it can get to where it is needed.
"We've seen the impact in places like Africa and the Middle East when they were not able to get the wheat they were used to out of the Black Sea region it has had really drastic food security implications, these regional food shortages have been quite stark."
Nations such as Lebanon have reported massive shortages in grain supplies without wheat from Ukraine hitting the market in its usual volumes.
Dr Bentley said she felt a whole-of-industry solution was needed.
"We not only need to be looking at ways to boost yields, but we need to look at food production in other strategic regions.
"Conditions would be relatively suitable to support wheat production in parts of east Africa could that help lessen the reliance in Africa on wheat out of Europe?"
"It is difficult, as people's dietary preferences are changing and there is definitely a shift in places like Africa and south-east Asia to wheat and rice but we also have to look at the role previous staple crops like millet or sorghum can play."
Dr Bentley said at present there was a trend towards more food being grown by a smaller, predominately prosperous, group of nations.
She said while the yield curve has been impressive in the developed world over the past 50 years geopolitical instability, such as the Ukraine war, quickly brought things unstuck.
"With this fragility we need to work at every level in those areas where there are food security concerns, from producing more food to better means of transportation and storage."
From a breeder perspective Dr Bentley said a bundling of improved agronomic practices with better genetics, such as has been seen in the developed world, would help kick start a more secure food production system in the developing world.
"This will reduce dependence on imported grain and fertilizer in poorer countries and keep those inflationary pressures that have been such a problem in the past year at bay to an extent."