S1E8 Plant Breeding Stories - Wong Choo Kien

Wong Choo Kien talks about the “magical crop”, oil palm, and his work as Head of Crop Improvement Division for Applied Agricultural Resources. With 85% of the world’s palm oil coming from Malaysia and its neighbour Indonesia, this plant has significance not just for the history and economies of these two countries, but for the entire global food system. Mr Wong describes evidence for a 10,000 year history of the palm’s use for food in Africa, and how even working with the world’s highest yielding oil crop there is work to be done to develop new characteristics. He also talks about his sense of loyalty to the community of oil palm breeders and the importance of people - the wisdom of investing in development, and the need to encourage young people to consider a career in agriculture. A transcript of this podcast is available at www.pbsinternational.com/podcast Find out more about AAR via their websites: http://www.aarsb.com.my