Climate change threatens global food and nutritional security through negative effects on crop growth and agricultural productivity. Many countries have adopted ambitious climate change mitigation and adaptation targets that will exacerbate the problem, as they require significant changes in current agri-food systems. In this review, we provide a roadmap for improved crop production that encompasses the effective transfer of current knowledge into plant breeding and crop management strategies that will underpin sustainable agriculture intensification and climate resilience. We identify the main problem areas and highlight outstanding questions and potential solutions that can be applied to mitigate the impacts of climate change on crop growth and productivity. Although translation of scientific advances into crop production lags far behind current scientific knowledge and technology, we consider that a holistic approach, combining disciplines in collaborative efforts, can drive better connections between research, policy, and the needs of society.

Biological Sciences University of Southampton Life Sciences Building 85 Highfield Campus Southampton SO17 1BJ UK

Centre for Plant Sciences School of Biology University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK

Centre for Plant Sciences School of Biology University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK; Horticulture Department Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources P O Box 219 Lilongwe Malawi

Institute for Sustainable Agriculture Córdoba 14004 Spain

Institute of Agrarian Sciences Federal University of Minas Gerais Avenida Universitária 1000 39404547 Montes Claros Minas Gerais Brazil

Institute of Biology Biotechnology and Environmental Protection Faculty of Natural Sciences University of Silesia in Katowice Jagiellonska 28 40 032 Katowice Poland

International Crops Research Institute for the Semi Arid Tropics Hyderabad 502324 India

Microbiology and Genetics Department Universidad de Salamanca Salamanca 37007 Spain; Institute for Agribiotechnology Research University of Salamanca Villamayor de la Armuña 37185 Spain

Microbiology and Genetics Department Universidad de Salamanca Salamanca 37007 Spain; Institute for Agribiotechnology Research University of Salamanca Villamayor de la Armuña 37185 Spain; Institute of Microbiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences Vídeňská Prague Czech Republic

Plants Photosynthesis and Soil School of Biosciences University of Sheffield Sheffield S10 2TN UK

Plants Photosynthesis and Soil School of Biosciences University of Sheffield Sheffield S10 2TN UK; Institute for Sustainable Food University of Sheffield Sheffield S10 2TN UK

School of Biosciences College of Life and Environmental Sciences University of Birmingham Birmingham UK

School of Food Science and Nutrition Faculty of Environment University of Leeds Leeds LS2 9JT UK

State Agricultural Biotechnology Centre Centre for Crop and Food Innovation Food Futures Institute Murdoch University Murdoch WA 6150 Australia

The UWA Institute of Agriculture University of Western Australia Perth WA 6009 Australia

The UWA Institute of Agriculture University of Western Australia Perth WA 6009 Australia; Department of Plant Sciences College of Agricultural and Marine Sciences Sultan Qaboos University Al Khoud 123 Oman

References provided by Crossref.org

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