Agnieszka Golicz, newly appointed chairholder of Plant Breeding at Wageningen University & Research, will be one of the keynote speakers at CropIB 2026.
In her keynote (Beyond the Genome: From Data to Decisions), Golicz will argue that ensuring future food security requires a fundamental shift in how we breed crops: not only for today’s environments, but for conditions that do not yet exist.
Golicz: “Agriculture is under growing pressure from multiple fronts. Climate change results in fast and often hard to predict changes in growth conditions. At the same time, there is virtually no new arable land to expand into, and the application of key agricultural inputs - water, fertilisers, and energy - is increasingly constrained. Together, these challenges make it clear that future food security cannot rely on traditional approaches alone. We must take advantage of all the tools available to develop rapid and efficient knowledge-based breeding approaches. ."
Accelerating crop improvement for future farming systems
Golicz is currently Professor of Agrobioinformatics at Justus Liebig University in Giessen. She will officially start as chairholder of Plant Breeding at Wageningen University & Research on 1 March. Her work focuses on integrating cutting-edge genomics, data science and breeding expertise to accelerate crop improvement for future farming systems.
At CropIB 2026 she will highlight how recent technological advances have transformed crop science. “Near-complete reference genomes, large-scale genotyping, high-throughput phenotyping and multi-omic approaches now make it possible to link plant genotype and phenotype at unprecedented scale. Combined with artificial intelligence, these tools open new ways to identify genomic regions and variants linked to key agronomic traits.”
At the same time, Golicz will address the challenges that come with this data-driven revolution. High-quality data, collaboration and data sharing are essential, as is the development of AI approaches that move beyond correlation and help uncover causal biological mechanisms. “Translating fundamental research into practical breeding solutions will be key to building resilient and sustainable agricultural systems.”
Golicz will deliver the opening plenary lecture on day 2 of CropIB 2026, Monday 30 March, 09.00 CET.
Read more:
Read the article on Golicz’ appointment as new WUR chair Plant Breeding on the website of Wageningen University & Research:
https://www.wur.nl/en/news/new-wur-chair-plant-breeding-tech-revolution-boosting-crop-improvement
