Beyond Perennial Grain Feasibility and Proof-of-Concept: Next Steps.

Farmers, particularly those on small land holdings in developing countries, need more options to increase crop and livestock production while also supporting multiple ecological functions (e.g., topsoil retention). These needs must be met under much more challenging circumstances than those under which yields were increased in the first ‘Green Revolution’, including rising input costs, diminishing water resources, increased climate variability, and degraded soil conditions. The development of perennial grain crops, such as wheat, sorghum, and grain legumes, has received widespread attention, including in Science, Nature, Scientific American, and National Geographic, as a potentially transformative innovation that could be a keystone in solutions to these multiple challenges.

Recent published results, from cutting-edge genomic innovations to on-farm, real-world results, show how the science is advancing this concept toward practical reality and moving the discussion beyond considerations of feasibility and proofs of concept. To meet expectations, particularly those of the agricultural research funding community, of the progress needed over the next 5 to 10 year period, specific issues need to be addressed, goals and objectives clarified, and strategies for success must be articulated. This talk will outline suggested issues, goals, and strategies that a robustly funded global perennial grain program should address.