CC and Potato and Wheat Competitiveness in South America

Executive Summary

Climate change is generating increases in average temperatures, variations in rainfall and more frequent extreme weather events. Its effects could seriously impact traditional agriculture, particularly small and medium-sized farms that depend on rainfed production. Water stress during flowering, pollination, and grain filling is harmful in wheat, as well as it affects tuberization or tuber filling and industrial quality in potatoes. Both are key crops for food security in the region, so it is necessary to investigate how to adapt them to the effects of climate change in aspects such as efficient use of water, genetic improvement, and the search for tolerance genes.
The project sought to increase the competitiveness of the potato and wheat production systems, through the selection and development of genotypes with greater tolerance to drought and high temperatures. It had the following components: 1. Validation of a model to identify the probable impacts of climate change on the potato and wheat production system and identify the most vulnerable production areas; 2. Characterization of potato and wheat germplasm collections (clones, lines, and varieties) by their response to drought and high temperatures; 3. Identification of groups of potatoes and wheat tolerant to drought and high temperatures, disseminate and incorporate them as parents in the genetic improvement programs of the region; 4. Development of efficient methods for selecting drought and high temperature tolerant genotypes, and their transfer to the region's breeding programs; and 5. Establishment of cooperation agreements for the transfer and evaluation of improved materials and the dissemination of results.

The technological solution

Climate change is being expressed in temperature increases, variations in rainfall regimes, and a higher incidence of extreme events. Given the uncertainty that this situation causes, the project sought the validation of simulation models that allow estimating its possible impacts on the production of some of the most important crops for food security in the participating countries. Also, it sought to identify germplasm of these crops with tolerance to the abiotic stresses caused by climate change. The validation of the AquaCrop model in potatoes and wheat has allowed estimating the possible impacts of climate change in the different regions of Chile and could be used for future agricultural development plans in the country. The identification of the accessions and genotypes of crops with drought tolerance could be used in the genetic improvement programs of the countries to develop varieties that are tolerant to the stresses that are generated by climate change.

Results

Beneficiaries

1,200 farmers benefited directly from the knowledge generated in the project through their participation in field days. Hundreds of researchers and professionals benefited through their participation in the project, and their access to the publications and presentations at national and international conferences.

The incorporation of  the genetic material identified and characterized in this project into the countries' genetic improvement programs could eventually benefit thousands of farmers.

Sustainable Development Goals

Main donors