200068 FAO improvement Landraces Wheat Barley North Africa_Third Technical report_ Sep 2016 to Aug 2018

Abstract

Bread wheat, durum wheat and barley are the major staple food crops of Morocco, Tunisia and
Algeria. In these countries, both wheat and barley are used for making bread and other products
for human consumption. Barley is also used as animal feed. The yield levels of these crops are
low to medium, due to the occurrence of pests and diseases, drought, salinity and high
temperatures resulting in lower production. Climate change (CC) further aggravated these
problems. As a result, the three countries are not self-sufficient in production of wheat and
barley and import for the domestic consumption. Plant genetic resources are the raw materials
used to create new crop varieties with biotic and abiotic stresses resistance, play a strategic role
in adaptation to changing climate