AI transforms crop breeding as first genomics centre opens in the Philippines
The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) has opened a new genomics center in the Philippines, utilizing AI to drastically speed up crop breeding. By analyzing genetic data with machine learning, scientists can identify climate-resilient traits in a fraction of the time previously required.
Why it matters
Accelerated crop breeding is essential for global food security as agriculture faces increasing pressure from climate change and extreme weather.
Agricultural genomics is entering a transformative phase as AI slashes the time and cost required to identify valuable traits for crop improvement.
For decades, plant breeding and genetic research relied on conventional methods that required significant time and resources to identify useful traits. Today, AI-powered tools are changing that equation.
These technologies are helping researchers unlock insights from vast genetic collections in less time and with less money. This is creating new opportunities to address some of agriculture’s most pressing challenges.
“We have been using conventional technologies, and now that we can use things like machine learning and AI, we can do the same things 10 times faster and 16 times more cheaply than we could ever do them before,” said Dr Yvonne Pinto, director general of IRRI.
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