Seeds of Change — Plant Genetic Resources and People’s Livelihoods

Since the dawn of mankind people explore the cornucopia of the plant kingdom to obtain food, feed, fiber, and fuel. Worldwide, the total number of higher plants is estimated to be 270,000 species. About 43% of them are crops, cultivated plants, and their wild relatives, nowadays being classified as plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. Throughout the history only 7000 species representing almost 2.5% of the total were cultivated by mankind in the one or other way [1].