The genetic diversity of crop plants and their relatives is the raw material of plant breeding. Since the beginning of agriculture, farmers have attempted to identify and use the available variants to their advantage. More recently, plant breeders have identified and recombined useful variants to produce improved landraces and cultivars. Over the past 20 years, a series of technical innovations have opened opportunities to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of plant breeding programmes. Commercial seed companies in developed countries and in some developing countries have adopted these innovations. This paper will discuss some of these opportunities and obstacles to their deployment in the context of developing countries. The presentation willbe illustrated by examples from projects supported by ACIAR.
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