CSIS: AI and Global Food Security
7 April 2026
A new article by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) explores how AI is transforming crop breeding, describing it as a ‘force multiplier’ that can improve the pace, precision and scope of crop improvement. The analysis highlights the role of AI in tackling one of the field’s biggest challenges – vast amounts of genetic and phenotypic ‘dark data’ stored in genebanks that remain underused.
For example, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) holds more than 130,000 rice samples, yet only around five percent have been used in breeding to date. This shows the untapped potential of AI to help ensure global food security. The IRRI genebank is supported through the Crop Trust’s Endowment Fund.
The Crop Trust's Securing Our Seeds (SOS) project is part of this push to strengthen data management in genebanks. Supported by the Google.org AI Collaborative on Food Security, SOS is accelerating the digitization of genebanks and exploring how AI can detect risks to crop diversity – helping turn genebank data into usable knowledge for breeders and researchers worldwide.
Categories: Securing Our Seeds, Rice, Food Security