Agriculture is facing its biggest challenge ever in its 13,000 years of history. Countries of the Middle East need to feed more people on less land, with less water and uncertain energy supplies, and under harsher weather conditions. We must go back to the basic building blocs of agriculture and work systematically on crop adaptability and increased nutritional value.

The most effective tool to develop a resilient agricultural system is found in the natural diversity of crops. The Information Event will discuss the specific role of global plant genetic resources in attaining food security in the Middle East and in enabling a sustainable, climate-smart agriculture sector.

2014 marks the 10-year Anniversary of the Global Crop Diversity Trust; it works to conserve and make available the world's variety of crop seeds, so that farmers and breeders have the means to feed a growing world population despite climate change. 2014 also marks the 15-year Anniversary of ICBA; it applies world-class research to improve the well-being of poor farmers in marginal environments, addressing the challenges of income, water, nutrition and food security.