Wheat is a staple food crop in the region of Central and West Asia contributing up to 50% of the daily calories. The region primarily produces modern semi-dwarf wheat varieties. However, wheat landraces are still grown in mountainous rainfed regions of Afghanistan, Iran, Tajikistan, Turkey and Uzbekistan. The objectives of the project were to inventory wheat landraces currently grown in these countries, and their collection for conservation and evaluation, description, characterisation, improvement and return to the farming communities from where they were collected. The collections were made in 60 provinces and 1500+ farmers in Turkey (2009-14); two provinces each in Afghanistan and Iran (201516). The diversity of the landraces was evaluated using botanical descriptors and genomic tools. Some landraces were distinct and localized geographically while others were widely dispersed across regions, demonstrating movement and exchange among the farmers. Socio-economic surveys accompanying the collections, demonstrated that the main reasons farmers still keep them, despite the availability of modern varieties were: Suitability for homemade products, rated as the highest trait; resistance to abiotic stresses; and quality and quantity of the straw. The regions with the highest wheat landrace diversity were identified to focus potential conservation efforts. A landraces evaluation and improvement pipeline was established comprised of evaluation of head-rows and subsequent evaluation of selections in trials for grain yield, disease resistance and grain quality. The genetic variation within landraces gave the opportunity for relatively fast and efficient population improvement using selection of the best individuals while maintaining the integrity of the population. The resulting improved lines and populations were multiplied for repatriation to the farming communities where they were selected. For the 2019 season more than 1000 farmers received seeds of improved wheat landraces for evaluation and utilization. In a separate program, selection of superior wheat landraces was conducted based on multilocational evaluations. These landraces were utilized in the a crossing program with two objectives: a) to improve the landraces through incorporation of disease resistance genes from modern varieties using a backcrossing program and through crosses between complementary landraces; b) to improve the modern germplasm by crosses with landraces to incorporate resistance to stresses and drought specifically. In both programs grain quality and suitability for local products remains an important objective. The crossing programs are supplemented by genomic tools, using the results of GWAS and other studies. The populations destined for landraces improvement are subjected to on-station and on-farm selection. 018559