FAO: 60% of Global Crops Depend on 9 Key Crops

Context

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) released the Third Report on the State of the World’s Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (SoW3) on March 24, 2025. The report highlights alarming trends in global crop production and the growing threats to plant genetic diversity. Despite cultivation of over 6,000 plant species globally, 60% of crop production relies on just nine crops, posing significant risks to food security and biodiversity.

Overdependence on Nine Crops

The report reveals that global crop production is heavily reliant on nine crops: sugarcane, maize, rice, wheat, potatoes, soybeans, oil palm fruit, sugar beet, and cassava. This dependency increases vulnerability to environmental changes, pests, and diseases. Such a narrow genetic base limits resilience in agricultural systems and raises concerns about long-term food security.

Threats to Genetic Diversity

Farmers’ Varieties and Landraces (FV/LR)

The report surveyed farmers’ varieties and landraces (FV/LR) within 18 sub-national regions across the globe and reported that 6% of their diversity is threatened with extinction. Nine sub-national regions have a more alarming situation as it is reported that over 18% of FV/LR are threatened. Threatened diversity from Southern Africa ranks the highest compared to that from the Caribbean and Western Asia. In stark contrast, even lowly threatened diversity was from Southern Asia, Australia, and New Zealand.

Conservation Challenges

• In-situ Conservation: Farmers’ variety conservation activities have shown that 42% of plant taxa surveyed face extinction either as species or varieties.
• Ex-situ Conservation: Despite efforts in the past decade to establish seed banks and gene repositories, the conservation process faces numerous challenges such as lack of funds, competent personnel, and infrastructural inadequacy. The political will in most countries to foster the conservation agenda is often lacking.

Regional Insights: India’s Conservation Efforts

Genetic erosion is a pressing problem in India that calls for urgent conservation efforts. More than 50% of the documented FV/LRs across five agro ecological zones are under threat. However, India has made some progress in establishing seed hubs for indigenous pulse production. The intervention has increased pulse production from 14.76 million tonnes in 2007-08 to 24.42 million tonnes in 2020-21.

Climate Change and Crop Diversity

The report underscores climate change as a major threat to crop diversity. Erratic weather events disrupt agricultural systems worldwide:

• Many countries fail to assess the impact of disasters on crop diversity.
• Post-disaster germplasm distribution often lacks adaptation to local conditions or cultural environments.
  These challenges exacerbate genetic erosion and hinder recovery efforts.

Implications for Food Security

Vulnerabilities

• Heavy reliance on a few crops increases susceptibility to disruptions caused by pests, diseases, or climate change.
• Loss of genetic diversity reduces adaptability to changing environmental conditions.

Solutions

• Strengthening conservation measures through political commitment and financial investment.
• Promoting diversification in agricultural systems by cultivating underutilized crops.
• Enhancing global collaboration for germplasm exchange and research.

Conclusion

The FAO’s SoW3 report highlights critical challenges in global agriculture due to overdependence on nine crops and threats to plant genetic diversity. Addressing these issues requires coordinated efforts in conservation, diversification, and climate resilience strategies. For India and other nations facing similar challenges, proactive policies can mitigate risks and ensure sustainable food security for future generations.

 Source: DTE

Download as PDF