• (1) breeding novel crop varieties using conventional and molecular tools,
• (2) understanding the mechanism of plant adaptation to abiotic and biotic stresses,
• (3) identifying, understanding, and producing new substances in industrial and medicinal plants having specific functions,
• (4) establishing sustainable agricultural systems by minimizing limiting factors to crop production, and
• (5) understanding crop responses to global change (GC) and strategies to cope with GC.