To respond to the increasing need to feed the world's population, standing in 2011 at 7 billion and predicted to reach 9 billion by 2050, as well as an ever greater demand for a balanced and healthy diet, there is a continuing need to produce improved new cultivars of plants, particularly crop plants. Land available for crop production is limited, with much of the world's best soils already in use and others protected, for example, for environmental concerns. The demand for food brings marginal lands into play for which stress tolerant crops need to be developed. Climate variation is yet another challenge breeders have to respond to. In short, more food, fibre, fuel and forage need to be produced per unit of land. The strategies used to meet these demands are increasingly based on our knowledge of relevant science, particularly genetics and reproductive biology. Success is gained by a multidisciplinary understanding and the deployment of relevant science and technology.

Key Concepts:

• Plant breeders must have access to genetic variation in crop species.
  
• Plant breeders must be equipped with the tools to respond quickly to new demands by developing accelerated breeding techniques and the ability to screen for traits of interest rapidly among progeny.
  
• Yield and yield stability remain the top priorities for breeders.
  
• Increasing production of plant products is essential for food, feed and fibre for the increasing World population.
  
• Breeders must be visionary in planning for requirements in the future, at least 7–20 years ahead, as this is the timescale from initiating the breeding programme to releasing cultivars.