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Managing Global Genetic Resources: Agricultural Crop Issues and Policies
MANAGING GLOBAL GENETIC RESOURCES
Agricultural Crop Issues and Policies
Committee on Managing Global Genetic Resources: Agricultural Imperatives
Board on Agriculture
National Research Council
NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C. 1993
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Managing Global Genetic Resources: Agricultural Crop Issues and Policies
NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
2101 Constitution Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20418
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
This material is based on work supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, under Agreement No. 59-32U4-6-75, and by the U.S. Agency for International Development under Grant No. DAN-1406-G-SS-6044-00. Additional funding was provided by Calgene, Inc.; Educational Foundation of America; the Kellogg Endowment Fund of the National Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Medicine; Monsanto Company; Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.; Rockefeller Foundation; U.S. Forest Service; W. K. Kellogg Foundation; World Bank; and the Basic Science Fund of the National Academy of Sciences, the contributors to which include the Atlantic Richfield Foundation, AT&T Bell Laboratories, BP America, Inc., Dow Chemical Company, E.I. duPont de Nemours & Company, IBM Corporation, Merck & Co., Inc., Monsanto Company, and Shell Oil Company Foundation. In addition, dissemination of the report was supported by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Agricultural crop issues and policies / Committee on Managing Global Genetic Resources: Agricultural Imperatives, Board on Agriculture, National Research Council.
p. cm. — (Managing global genetic resources)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-309-04430-8
1. Crops—Germplasm resources—Management. 2. Germplasm resources, Plant—Management. I. National Research Council (U.S.). Committee on Managing Global Genetic Resources: Agricultural Imperatives. II. Series.
SB123.3.A47 1993
333.95'316—dc20 93-31987
CIP
Copyright 1993 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording, nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise copied for public or private use without written permission from the publisher, except for the purposes of official use by the U.S. government.
Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.
Printed in the United States of America
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Managing Global Genetic Resources: Agricultural Crop Issues and Policies
Committee on Managing Global Genetics Resources: Agricultural Imperatives
PETER R. DAY, Chairman,
Rutgers University
ROBERT W. ALLARD,
University of Calilfornia, Davis
PAULO DE T. ALVIM,
Comissão Executiva do Plano da Lavoura Cacaueira, Brasil*
JOHN H. BARTON,
Stanford University
FREDERICK H. BUTTEL,
University of Wisconsin
TE-TZU CHANG,
International Rice Research Institute, The Philippines (Retired)
ROBERT E. EVENSON,
Yale University
HENRY A. FITZHUGH,
International Livestock Center for Africa, Ethiopia †
MAJOR M. GOODMAN,
North Carolina State University
JAAP J. HARDON,
Center for Genetic Resources, The Netherlands
DONALD R. MARSHALL,
University of Sydney, Australia
SETIJATI SASTRAPRADJA,
National Center for Biotechnology, Indonesia
CHARLES SMITH,
University of Guelph, Canada
JOHN A. SPENCE,
University of the West Indies, Trinidad and Tobago
Genetic Resources Staff
MICHAEL S. STRAUSS, Project Director
JOHN A. PINO, Project Director‡
BRENDA BALLACHEY, Staff Officer§
BARBARA J. RICE, Project Associate and Editor
ALWIN Y. PHILIPPA, Senior Program Assistant
*
Executive Commission of the Program for the Strengthening Cacao Production, Brazil.
†
Winrock International, through January 1990.
‡
Through June 1990.
§
Through November 1989.
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Managing Global Genetic Resources: Agricultural Crop Issues and Policies
Subcommittee on Plant Genetic Resources
ROBERT W. ALLARD, Chairman
University of California, Davis
AMRAM ASHRI,
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
VIRGIL A. JOHNSON,
University of Nebraska (Retired)
RAJENDRA S. PARODA,
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok, Thailand*
H. GARRISON WILKES,
University of Massachusetts, Boston
LYNDSEY A. WITHERS,
International Board for Plant Genetic Resources, Italy
Crop Vulnerability Work Group
H. GARRISON WILKES, Chairman,
University of Massachusetts, Boston
IVAN W. BUDDENHAGEN,
University of California, Davis
DONALD N. DUVICK,
Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc. (Retired)
GARY P. NABHAN,
Native Seed/SEARCH, Tucson, Arizona
National Plant Germplasm System Work Group
CALVIN O. QUALSET, Chairman,
University of California, Davis
JOHN L. CREECH,
U.S. Department of Agriculture (Retired)
S.M. (SAM) DIETZ,
U.S. Department of Agriculture (Retired)
MAJOR M. GOODMAN,
North Carolina State University
A. BRUCE MAUNDER,
DEKALB Plant Genetics, Lubbock, Texas
DAVID H. TIMOTHY,
North Carolina State University
Forest Genetic Resources Work Group
GENE NAMKOONG, Chairman,
U.S. Forest Service and North Carolina State University
KAMALJIT BAWA,
University of Massachusetts, Boston
JEFFREY BURLEY,
Oxford University, United Kingdom
SUSAN S. SHEN,
World Bank, Washington, D.C.
*
Formerly at Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi.
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Managing Global Genetic Resources: Agricultural Crop Issues and Policies
Subcommittee on Animal Genetic Resources
HENRY A. FITZHUGH, Chairman,
International Livestock Center for Africa, Ethiopia
ELIZABETH L. HENSON,
Cotswold Farm Park, England
JOHN HODGES,
Mittersill, Austria
DAVID R. NOTTER,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
DIETER PLASSE,
Universidad Central de Venezuela (Retired)
LOUSE LETHOLA SETSHWAELO,
Ministry of Agriculture, Botswana
THOMAS E. WAGNER,
Ohio University, Athens
JAMES E. WOMACK,
Texas A&M University
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Managing Global Genetic Resources: Agricultural Crop Issues and Policies
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Managing Global Genetic Resources: Agricultural Crop Issues and Policies
Board on Agriculture
THEODORE L. HULLAR, Chairman,
University of California, Davis
PHILIP H. ABELSON,
American Association for the Advancement of Science, Washington, D.C.
JOHN M. ANTLE,
Montana State University
DALE E. BAUMAN,
Cornell University
WILLIAM B. DELAUDER,
Delaware State College
SUSAN K. HARLANDER,
Land O'Lakes, Inc., Minneapolis, Minnesota
PAUL W. JOHNSON, Natural Resources Consultant,
Decorah, Iowa
T. KENT KIRK,
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Madison, Wisconsin
JAMES R. MOSELEY,
Jim Moseley Farms, Inc., Clark Hills, Indiana
DONALD R. NIELSEN,
University of California, Davis
NORMAN R. SCOTT,
Cornell University
GEORGE E. SEIDEL, JR.,
Colorado State University
PATRICIA B. SWAN,
Iowa State University
FREDERIC WINTHROP, JR.,
The Trustees of Reservations, Beverly, Massachusetts
SUSAN E. OFFUTT, Executive Director
JAMES E. TAVARES, Associate Executive Director
CARLA CARLSON, Director of Communications
BARBARA J. RICE, Editor
JANET L. OVERTON, Associate Editor
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Managing Global Genetic Resources: Agricultural Crop Issues and Policies
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Robert M. White is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. Robert M. White are chairman and vice-chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
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Managing Global Genetic Resources: Agricultural Crop Issues and Policies
Preface
The crucial role of genetic resources in supporting human society is frequently overlooked and greatly undervalued. They are of tremendous practical and historical significance for human life. They underpin both our daily survival and are responsible for generating a large part of the wealth of nations.
Germplasm is a resource that consists of the genetic materials that can perpetuate a species or a population of an organism. It can be used both to reproduce and, through hybridization and selection, to change or enhance organisms. Conserving genetic resources in the form of crop, livestock, microbial, and tree germplasm is a means of safeguarding the living materials now exploited by agriculture, industry, and forestry to provide food for humans and feed for livestock, fiber for clothing and furnishing, fuel for cooking and heating, and the food and industry products of microbial origin.
Genetic conservation is also an integral part of a still broader activity concerned with protecting and maintaining the quality of air, water, and soil and the many plants, animals, microorganisms, and communities of organisms that help to mold and stabilize the global environment. Conservation ensures that future generations of humans will also benefit from earth's biological resources.
In 1985 the Board on Agriculture of the National Research Council, under the chairmanship of Dr. William L. Brown, concluded that an assessment of the status of global genetic resources important to agriculture was needed. Encouragement for this study came from several government and foundation officials and scientific associations. The National Research Council established the Committee on
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Managing Global Genetic Resources: Agricultural Crop Issues and Policies
Managing Global Genetic Resources: Agricultural Imperatives in November 1986. The scope of its study was largely restricted to plants, animals, and microorganisms used in commerce or having potential for such use.
Why is it necessary to preserve materials that were originally collected from undeveloped agricultures or from the wild? The success of modern high-yielding crop varieties is such that they tend to replace older peasant varieties even in remote parts of the world. Even though many of the varieties widely grown 20 years ago can still be found, they are also increasingly being replaced. These materials can be important sources of genetic variation. People have also destroyed or altered many natural habitats of wild crop relatives and made them unsuitable for the plants that once grew there.
There is widespread concern among many agricultural scientists about the status of conserved germplasm worldwide. Most collected materials, to be of use, must be evaluated and tested at the expense of considerable effort and resources. If properly conserved and catalogued such material is available to others who may wish to use it. Is enough being done? Is the material already conserved in seed stores and other facilities adequately documented, properly stored and managed, and freely available to anyone with a legitimate need? Does it include all the potentially important genetic information that can still be collected now but which may be disappearing and therefore not available much longer? Are sufficient resources being applied by national governments to their own and to global needs? What priorities have been established and are they correct? What mechanisms are in place for conserving genetic resources?
Conserving the genetic resources of exploited species first arose when humans saved individual or small groups of animals and part of their harvests of gathered seeds, roots, and tubers of plant. They were kept for herd increase and planting. Putting aside the better forms for future use began the long process of selection and improvement responsible for the development of agriculture. The first crop plants and livestock were undomesticated wild species that gave rise, thousands of years later, to modern varieties and breeds. The rediscovery of genetics at the end of the last century gave breeders an explanation of the mechanism of inheritance. The earlier cultivars and breeds and their closely related wild species were sources of useful variation that could be introduced by hybridization. Breeders assembled collections of useful materials that were described, catalogued, and tested and could be saved from year to year. These collections were the first forms of germplasm to be systematically conserved, at least during the working lifetime of the breeder.
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Managing Global Genetic Resources: Agricultural Crop Issues and Policies
The emergence of plant and animal breeding programs during the first half of this century created a demand for germplasm exchange among breeders and for collecting expeditions and explorations to satisfy the growing need for such crop plant characters as disease resistance, insect resistance, earliness, stiff stalks, and grain quality. At first much of the material collected was wasted because it was not properly stored and regenerated to avoid admixture, nor was it adequately described. Similarly livestock producers wishing to improve the productivity and adaptation of herbs to local conditions imported exotic breeds from other parts of the world. When breeders retired, their stocks were often either discarded as useless or sold for slaughter by colleagues who did not appreciate their value.
In the United States, a nation almost wholly dependent on crop plants and livestock not native in North America, the elements of a national germplasm program evolved from early requests for U.S. travelers abroad to send back seeds or plants of promising trees or crops. From 1836 until 1862, when the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was established, the U.S. Patent Office distributed seeds and plants from overseas to U.S. farmers. In 1898 a Seed and Plant Introduction Section of USDA began to promote the collection and introduction of new crops. However, it became clear that it was necessary to minimize the risk of bringing in pests and diseases. In the United States, the first plant quarantines were initiative by individual states. California, in 1881, was the first to pass an act to prevent the spread of the grape gall louse from other states. Federal plant quarantine regulations were not adopted until 1912, although drastic legislation had been accepted in Europe and Australia by 1877 to restrict the introduction of the same grape pest from the United States.
Other nations in the developed world followed suit. National plant germplasm collections were established in Germany, France, the Netherlands, Scandinavia, the former Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom. Following World War II and the establishment of the World Bank to aid the economic development of poorer nations, a network of international agricultural research centers (IARCs) began to emerge. These centers were designed to provide both improved germplasm and agronomic research to help developing countries become self-sufficient and improve their agricultural exports to world markets. Among the most visible of the IARCs are those administered by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), a body representing the principal donors that fund its activities. Centro International de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center) and the International Rice Research
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Managing Global Genetic Resources: Agricultural Crop Issues and Policies
the contribution of the IRRI germplasm bank to breeding new rice cultivars for India to exemplify the value of properly managed and accessible germplasm for all crops. Chapter 14 traces genesis of "the North-South debate," which features the industrialized nations of the northern hemisphere and the developing countries of the southern hemisphere. The genesis and operation of the national and International germplasm conservation programs are discussed in Chapter 15.
Conserving genetic resources is an important part of agriculture. These resources, and the environment in which they found, provide our daily bread. What stronger motivation could we possibly need to improve our management and support for them?
PETER R. DAY, Chairman
Committee on Managing Global Genetic Resources: Agricultural Imperatives
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Managing Global Genetic Resources: Agricultural Crop Issues and Policies
Acknowledgements
Many scientists and policymakers have contributed time, support, and information instrumental to the committee's analyses contained in this report. The committee thanks Robert Craig and Michael Lesnick for including several members of the committee and its staff in the Keystone Center's International Dialogues on Plant Genetic Resources; Henry Shands for support and valuable assistance throughout the project; Robert Weaver for early discussions on conservation and economics; Charles M. Rick for information on tomatoes; and Takuma Tsuchiya for information on barley.
The assistance of Dennis Allsopp, Ivan Bousefield, Les Breese, Paul D. Bridge, Stephen Brush, David L. Hawksworth, Douglas Gollin, William Grant, David A. John, Robert P. Kahn, Steven King, Barbara E. Kirsop, Jan Konopka, James M. Price, Peter H. A. Judith Lyman Snow, and Theo van Hintum is gratefully acknowledged. The committee appreciated the contribution of the individuals throughout its deliberations.
Many other scientists and policymakers assisted by sharing their insights and expertise throughout the study. Numerous scientists and agriculturalists around the world gave us candid assessments of genetic resources activities in their countries. To all of these individuals the committee expresses its gratitude.
While the many subcommittee and work-group participants provided valuable information for this report, the conclusions and recommendations are those of the committee.
Administrative support during various stages of the development of this report was provided by Philomina Mammen, Carole Spalding,
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Maryann Tully, Joseph Gagnier, and Mary Lou Sutton, and they are gratefully acknowledged. The committee also thanks Joi Brooks and Sherry Showell, interns sponsored by the Midwestern University Consortium for International Activities, for assisting in the development of the report, and Michael Hayes for his editorial work.
The committee also honors the memory of William L. Brown, whose leadership and early vision of the importance of crop genetic resources were crucial to the launching of this effort.
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Managing Global Genetic Resources: Agricultural Crop Issues and Policies
Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1
An Agricultural Endowment
2
The Need for Genetic Resources
4
Accessing Genetic Resources
6
Building Cooperation
14
Looking to the Future: Recommendations
15
AN OVERVIEW OF GENETIC RESOURCES MANAGEMENT
29
The Importance of Germplasm
32
The Origins Of Conservation
33
The Usefulness Of Germplasm
34
The Threat of Genetic Vulnerability
36
Emergence of Global Concerns
37
Dissenting Views
40
The Problem of Economic Analysis
43
Microorganism Collections
43
PART I
Managing Global Genetic Resources: Basic Science Issues
1
GENETIC VULNERABILITY AND CROP DIVERSITY
47
What is Genetic Vulnerability?
48
Plant, Pathogen, Pest, and Environmental Relationship
53
Breeding Strategies and Their Impact on Genetic Diversity
60
Vulnerability and Crop Diversity Since 1970
67
Recommendation
81
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Managing Global Genetic Resources: Agricultural Crop Issues and Policies
2
CROP DIVERSITY: INSTITUTIONAL RESPONSES
85
Germplasm Collection And Conservation Worldwide
85
Development of International Crop Breeding Programs
92
Global Impact of Changes in the United States
99
Recommendation
114
3
IN SITU CONSERVATION OF GENETIC RESOURCES
117
The Importance of In Situ Conservation
117
Wild Species as Genetic Resources
119
The Status of In Situ Conservation of Wild Types
121
The Status of In Situ Conservation of Domesticated Types
127
Recommendations
128
4
THE SCIENCE OF COLLECTING GENETIC RESOURCES
131
Types of Collections
131
Sampling Strategies
134
Parameters of Genetic Diversity
135
Empirical Studies of Genetic Diversity: Numbers of Alleles and Allelic Profiles
136
Formulation of Sampling Strategies
139
Empirical Studies Of Allelic Diversity and Environmentally Influenced Genetic Differentiation
141
Sample Sizes for Each Collection Site
145
Number of Sites to Sample
150
Recommendations
151
5
THE SCIENCE OF MANAGING GENETIC RESOURCES
153
Seed Regeneration
154
Characterization
161
Evaluation
162
Monitoring of Seed Viability and Genetic Integrity During Storage
166
Recommendations
170
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Managing Global Genetic Resources: Agricultural Crop Issues and Policies
6
USING GENETIC RESOURCES
173
An Example of Germplasm Use
173
Breeders' Perceptions and Practices
174
Users' Perceptions of the Germplasm System
179
Breeders' Perceptions of Active Collections
180
Modernization of Active Collections
183
Evolutionary Processes and Germplasm Use
184
Recommendations
186
7
BIOTECHNOLOGY AND GERMPLASM CONSERVATION
189
Alternatives to Storing Seeds and Whole Organisms
190
Molecular Conservation Technologies
197
Recommendations
202
8
DOCUMENTATION OF GENETIC RESOURCES
205
Information on Germplasm Collections
206
Computerization of Germplasm Collection Data
210
Current Status of Genetic Resources Documentations
213
Future Developments
215
Recommendations
216
9
THE CONSERVATION OF GENETIC STOCK COLLECTIONS
219
Importance and Use of Genetic Stock Collections
220
Genetic Stock Collections
220
Maintaining Genetic Stock Collections of Agricultural Crops
227
Examples of Genetic Stock Collections
229
Toward a More Secure Future
236
Recommendations
236
10
THE GENETIC RESOURCES OF MICROORGANISMS
239
Organization of Microbial Culture Collections
240
Microbial Resources in Culture Collections
242
Conserving Microbial Diversity
244
Maintenance of Genetic Stability in Culture
245
Maintenance in Natural Habitats
247
Potential of Microbes in the Agricultural, Biotechnological, and Industrial Sectors
248
Recommendations
253
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Managing Global Genetic Resources: Agricultural Crop Issues and Policies
PART II
Managing Global Genetic Resources: Policy Issues
11
EXCHANGE OF GENETIC RESOURCES: QUARANTINE
259
Reducing the Risks from Pests and Pathogens
260
Quarantine and Global Transfer of Plant Genetic Resources
262
Importation of Genetic Resources
273
Recommendations
274
12
EXCHANGE OF GENETIC RESOURCES: PROPRIETARY RIGHTS
279
Proprietary Rights on Living Beings
280
Plausible Impacts of Proprietary Rights on the Terms of International Germplasm Exchange
287
Selected species
290
Implications of the Examples
298
Recommendations
301
13
GENETIC RESOURCES: ASSESSING ECONOMIC VALUE
303
Valuing Genetic Resources
303
The Problem of Lack of Markets
304
Price Evaluation Methods
306
Rice: An Example of Pricing Methods
309
Implications for Other Crop Species
318
Recommendations
319
14
CONFLICTS OVER OWNERSHIP, MANAGEMENT, AND USE
321
Politics and Geography
321
International Dialogue on Plant Genetic Resources
324
Responses to the Conflict Over Genetic Diversity
336
Recommendations
344
15
NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL PROGRAMS
347
National Programs
347
International Programs
359
The Role of International Programs
364
The Global Genetic Resources Network
365
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Managing Global Genetic Resources: Agricultural Crop Issues and Policies
Other International Centers
366
Constraints to Effective International Programs
374
The Future
375
Recommendations
379
REFERENCES
381
GLOSSARY
407
ABBREVIATIONS
415
AUTHORS
419
INDEX
423
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Agricultural Crop Issues and Policies
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