Professor Magdy Madkour, is Professor of Biotechnology at the Arid Lands Agricultural Research Institute, Ain Shams University, Egypt; and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Agriculture and Food Security, BioMed Central. Former Chairman of the Technical Committee, Agricultural Research and Development Fund (ARDF), Agricultural R&D Council, Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation, Egypt, Senior Advisor to Bibliotheca Alexandrina. He served as the Assistant Director General for International Cooperation, ICARDA (2004-2006). Prof. Madkour obtained his PhD from the University of Wales, UK in Physiological Plant Pathology; was appointed Professor of Plant Pathology, Alexandria University, Egypt (1982-1989), Visiting Professor, University of California, Davis (1989/1990). In 1990, he established the Agricultural Genetic Engineering Research Institute (AGERI-Egypt), appointed Vice-President, then President of the Agricultural Research Center, Egypt (2001-2004). He served on the Technical Advisory Committee of the CGIAR (1996-2000), and on the Board of Trustees of ICARDA and IPGRI (Bioversity). In 2007, he was decorated with Egypt’s Presidential Gold Medal as recipient of the State Award of appreciation in Advanced Agricultural Technologies. He also received three AOAD awards for scientific excellence, the FAO World Food Day recognition in 2001, and the TWAS Arab Regional Prize in 2012. Three patents for novel biological insecticides were issued in his name. Prof. Madkour authored 136 peer reviewed scientific publications, and contributed with chapters in 7 international books.

The planet Earth, on which we live in communities, is being increasingly “ruptured” because of human activities; its carrying capacity is under great stress because of demographic pressure. The pressure is specially affecting the people living in the dry areas because of the marginal and fragile nature of the resources they have access to. There are over 2000 million hectares of land that have been pushed to degradation, loss of agro biodiversity, increased water scarcity, and increased natural resource destruction. Super imposed on this, is the fact that the neglectful and exploitive use of the natural resources has set the train of global climate change in motion. It is anticipated that the impact of climate change would cut across all boundaries. Crops, cropping systems, rotations, and biota will undergo transformation. To maintain the balance in the system, there will be a need for new knowledge, alternative policies and institutional changes. The marginalized people in the dry areas are likely to be most seriously hit by the shifts in moisture and temperature regimes as a result of the global climate change. In order to help them cope with the challenges there will be a need for a new paradigm in agricultural research and technology transfer that makes full use of modern science and technology in conjunction with traditional knowledge. This would necessitate more investment by international agencies and national governments for supporting the relevant integrated research and sustainable development efforts, with full participation of the target communities. Only such an approach can enable the vulnerable communities of the dry land areas to use the natural resources in a sustainable manner and thus help protect the environment for future generations. The future of the world lies in the collective responsibility and wisdom of all nations on this planet. This should be reflected in the endorsement of a solid future plan.