i) To develop a comprehensive understanding of wild and cultivated cereal diversity at a continental scale.

ii) To investigate potential diversity hot-spots for cultivated and wild populations with the view to refining in situ conservation approaches.

iii) To identify the main evolutionary factors responsible for the observed structures of diversity, with special emphasis on domestication processes, and to propose new diversity indicators.

iv) To obtain preliminary results on the diversity of underutilized cereals in a limited number of study sites and to develop a research initiative on these crops based on a multi-stakeholder research network.