Hunger-ending seed technology is on the horizon – but will it reach the farmers who need it most?

Seeds are the foundations of food security. Yet, in an era defined by climate change, innovations in crop breeding will determine how we tackle the world’s growing hunger crisis. From the 'green revolution' to today’s high-yielding and disease-resistant varieties, crop innovations are estimated to have saved millions of lives, spared vast swaths of land from the plough and reshaped global food systems. The future promises even more significant breakthroughs, but there’s a question we must address: how can we ensure that these life-saving innovations reach the farmers who need them most?

A recent survey by the International Seed Federation of seed industry insiders and partners points to promising prospects. Over 90% expect that, within two decades, new seed technologies will breed more resilient, productive and nutritious crops, giving the world new tools to confront food and nutrition insecurity. However, 45% also identified climate change as the seed sector's most pressing challenge. Indeed, as extreme weather shocks become more frequent and new plant diseases emerge, the need for resilient crops has never been more urgent.

New breeding technologies, such as CRISPR, and other genome-editing methods are paving the way. These tools allow plant scientists to accelerate the breeding process and develop new plant varieties tailored to withstand the unpredictable conditions of today’s and tomorrow’s world. Think about drought-resistant, high-yielding corn, non-browning lettuce, pitless cherries and mustard greens that do not turn bitter when cooked. These aren’t futuristic ideas — they already exist and even more innovations are on the cusp of becoming realities.

To ensure that these varieties reach farmers and meet the challenges facing modern agriculture, we must increase investment, address trade and regulatory barriers and advance public-private collaboration.

We cannot address 21st-century problems with 20th-century solutions. Sustained investment in seed innovation is essential for driving progress and meeting the growing challenges of climate change and food insecurity.

Unfortunately, public investment in agricultural research in general has stagnated at $30 billion a year, according to the World Resources Institute. In the private sector, we know that seed companies, on average, invest between 15-25% of their annual turnover into research and development, which, based on the most recent global seed market figures from Kynetec, is equivalent to an investment of around $10 billion to $25 billion per year dedicated to seed innovation alone.

To meet the increasing complexity of today’s agriculture, however, both public and private sectors need to step up. One-third of experts in our survey cited increased investment as the most impactful factor for driving progress in the seed sector. More funding can support ongoing research and incentivize innovation, ultimately generating benefits for farmers.

While innovation and investment are critical, regulatory frameworks must keep pace with seed production and trade. Today, no country can fully supply farmers with seeds of their choice solely from its own production. This means farmers must rely on the interdependent work of the seed industry across borders: each of the steps to deliver new seeds can occur in a different country, from breeding new varieties to field inspections, grading, packaging and sale. In our survey, 75% of seed experts warned that inconsistent or non-science-based regulations limit the sector’s ability to support global food security.

One positive example of progress is the collaboration between the seed industry, governments and partners in the Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation (GATF) on the IPPC ePhyto (electronic phytosanitary certification) Solution. This initiative continues to drive the modernization of the global seed trade by facilitating the international exchange of electronic phytosanitary information by developing countries, allowing for more efficient and effective trade flows through standardized mapping, codes and lists. Efforts are ongoing to secure funding to implement this solution further in Africa.

Finally, we need more collaboration between the public and private sectors to turn potential breakthroughs into reality. For seed companies and public institutions, the journey from lab to farm is often fraught with obstacles. Greater collaboration is crucial, therefore, to accelerate the development and distribution of new seed technologies.

Historically, the private sector has played a significant role in seed research and has outpaced public investment, notably in industrialized countries since the 1980s, according to figures from the OECD. However, public institutions also play a vital role. They have the reach and ability to focus on food security crops without pressure from markets. By working together and combining resources, expertise and infrastructure, we can make sure that seed innovations reach farmers worldwide, no matter their location or scale of operation. This is what we are demonstrating with our partnership with CGIAR at the global level and on the ground in Rwanda through the ongoing Seed Resilience project, in which we continuously invite partners – seed companies, NGOs and governments – to participate.

As breakthrough innovations in seed technology sit just around the corner, the challenge remains to ensure that these technologies reach the world’s 500 million smallholder farmers. Currently, only 47 million of these farmers have access to improved seeds, which leaves the vast majority vulnerable to climate threats. Seeds may be the starting point of food security, but it is up to all of us — governments, businesses and researchers — to ensure they reach the finish line: the hands of farmers who feed the world.