Southeast Asia grappled with a record-breaking heat wave in April and May that not only claimedย hundreds of livesย but diminished entire crop harvests, putting the regionโs food security in jeopardy.
The frequency and intensity of heat waves are only expected toย increaseย in line with climate change. And though plant scientists have for decades bred climate-resilient crops โย strengthening their tolerance to drought, flooding, and emerging diseases โ experts say not enough is being invested into the research and development of crops that can withstand extreme heat.
โThere is so much potential but not enough funding,โ said Benjamin Kilian, senior scientist and project coordinator atย the nonprofitย Crop Trust,ย which works to conserve crop diversity and funds gene banks worldwide. โOn the global scale, we need more investments into this work.โ
Breeding plants to tolerate other climate stressors โ such as salinity, drought, and submergence โย has beenย historically prioritized over heat, according toย Amelia Henry, a senior scientistย for stress physiology at the Philippines-basedย Internationa
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This could be because developing cropsโ heat tolerance can be more time-consuming and difficult to research compared to other forms of crop resilience, or because the effects of stressors such as floods and salinity are more visible, she said.
