Crop Trust researchers identified rice varieties with improved tolerance to salt, bacterial blight, and blast disease, while two new varieties are now approved for cultivation.

The Crop Trust is an international non-profit organization dedicated to conserving and making crop diversity available for use globally, forever and for the benefit of everyone. The fight to achieve food security and end hunger is one of the most defining issues of our times. Agriculture feeds our world, both people and the livestock that we raise. Yet, agriculture is under threat. Rising populations, diminishing resources and deteriorating environments are all raising the stakes. We will need 50% more food on the table by 2050, and producing this food has never been more challenging. Within the plant diversity, we can find the characteristics that will adapt and improve our food crops and allow farmers to feed the world – come what may. But this diversity is not endless. It is disappearing, and once lost, it’s lost forever. Conserving and making this diversity available in genebanks worldwide ensures a food supply at more stable prices and provides the raw material breeders and farmers will need to grow a more nutritious, affordable and varied food supply. This is the Crop Trust’s mission.