Crops GeneBank: Nigeria joins global members to submit 20,720 seeds samples

 

In an effort towards global food security through guaranteed backups for improved seeds, Nigeria and fourteen others Genebanks members have deposited a total of 20,720 crop seeds varieties in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault located in Norwegian Island of Spitsbergen.

Out of the 20,720 deposited varieties this last May 2024, the National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology ( NACGRAB), Nigeria was able to deposit 642 accessions of eight species, mostly sorghum, pearl millet and vigna beans.

The communication manager, Global Crop Diversity Trust, Luis Salazar in our conversations stated this  was not the first deposit by NACGRAB, saying that " It has deposited a total of 2,092 seed accessions into the seed Vault even as it made shipment last year.

The information related to Foodfarmnews added that " A total of 20,720 seed samples from 15 Genebanks join hundreds of thousands of others to store in the snow- covered vault on the remote northerner Norwegian Island of Spitsbergen, where valuable collections of Crop diversity are preserved to ensure that the world's agriculture is future- proofed for the benefit of all humanity"

The press statement added that " For 16 years, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault has been steadily expanding its family of seed depositors, which back up their seed collections in case of unforeseen crisis, such as war, civil strife, financial woes or natural disasters"

" The Seed Vault operates through a partnership between Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food, the Nordic Genetic Resources Centre ( NordGen) and the Crop Trust"

The issued statement further emphasized on the impact of climate change valgaries including unprecedented heat, drought and floods in Southern Africa with inherent danger to food production, adding that seeds kept in Genebanks offered opportunity to plant breeders to develop new, more resilient and productive varieties to a particular environment.

Thanking the seeds depositors, the CEO, NordGen, Lise Lykke Stenffensen in the press statement made available called for timely action on crop seeds preservation against climate change challenges on future food security using GeneBanks.

Stenffensen stressed further that " When it comes to conserving crop diversity crucial for our future food production, we're running against time. Climate change is upon us and Agricutural biodiversity is vital for both climate adaptation and mitigation.

 We are therefore immensely grateful for the increased interest among GeneBanks worldwide to back up their seed collections in Svalbard and happy to welcome four new depositors. To carry those seeds and place them on the frozen shelves of the seed Vault is our honour as the operational manager of the facility "

The full list of the 15 depositors that delivered unique seed varieties to Longyearbyen are captured below with Countries, Accessions, Boxes and Crops as at May, 2024.

1: National Agrobiodiversity Center

South Korea

4,000

7

43 species/subspecies

2: World Vegetable Centre

Taiwan

4,800

10

135 species/subspecies

3: Seed Savers Exchange

USA

38

1

20 species, vegetables and legumes

4: Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute

Taiwan

170

1

Foxtail millet

5: Barley and Wild Plant Resources Center, Okayama University

Japan

654

1

Wild barley relatives

6: Spanish Plant Genetic Resource Centre

Spain

208

2

39 species, vegetables, legumes, cereals, herbs

7: CIP (CGIAR)

Peru

215

1

77 species/subspecies of Solanum and Ipomoea

8: IHAR

Poland

850

2

Wheat and tomato species/subsp.

9: ICARDA (CGIAR)

Lebanon

3,752

8

178 species/subspecies

 BOLD project partners

10: Borneo Institute (new)

Indonesia

294

1

Oryza, Vigna, Zea and Solanum ferox

11: Agrobiotechnology Scientific Center, Armenian National Agrarian University Foundation (new)

Armenia

1,865

2

63 species/subspecies, cereals and legumes

12: Laboratory of Genetics, Biotechnology and Seed Sciences (new)

Benin

2,701

8

27 species/subspecies

13: Institut National des Recherches Agricoles du Benin (new)

Benin

324

2

Rice, pearl millet, Sorghum and maize

14: Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute

Malaysia

207

1

rice

Seeds for Resilience project partner

15: NACGRAB

Nigeria

642

8 species, mostly Sorghum, pearl millet and vigna beans

Total

20,720.