- Seed saving at IPK handed over.
- Why Bambara groundnut needs saving.
- Kenyan women get together to save seeds.
- Saving seeds in the Atacama Desert.
- Saving wheat and vines in Georgia.
Nibbles: Family farming, Banana diversity, Logotonu Waqainabete, ICARDA genebank women, SOTW3 in Africa
- “Our traditional crops are not just food. They are life. They are our ancestors’ legacy and our children’s inheritance.”
- “Banana diversity is not only a scientific or agricultural asset — it is the sector’s insurance for the future.”
- “Through my parents, I learned that agriculture doesn’t just feed people, it also makes the world more beautiful.”
- “Genebank work depends on accumulated knowledge. If that knowledge isn’t transferred, you don’t just lose experience, you introduce risk.”
- “Conserving and using Africa’s plant genetic resources is not a luxury. It is a necessity for resilient agrifood systems in a changing climate.”
Latest from the Treaty
Ok, sure, maybe the Plant Treaty needs “enhancement,” and the results of its recent Governing Body meeting may have been a tad disappointing. But its achievements are undeniable, and very well documented in a just-out comprehensive analysis of the Multilateral System it has set up.
Genebank data at a crossroads
Is genebank data having a moment? Well, it’s a pretty big thing that the botanic gardens community have basically said that they need a Genesys too, and in a hugely co-authored “Perspective” article in Nature Plants to boot. 1
Here we have focused on the living collections data ecosystem, because many aspects to managing these collections are unique within the broader collections sector. But we can look to the more advanced and better-networked accession-level data systems of ex situ agricultural gene banks (for example Genesys), not only for inspiration but with a view to lessons learned, and ultimately as future partners in building an even broader integrated global system for ex situ conservation resources.
Hey, we’re just sitting here waiting for you to decide to join us.
And there’s other stuff going on too. The Australian Virtual Seed Bank Portal has had an update and looks just great, for example. And the Old Vine Registry‘s database has passed 4000 entries. Ok, that covers old vineyards rather than genebank collections, but same difference, don’t @ me. Anyway, would love to see it mashed up with the European Vitis Database one day.
But back to genebanks. People are even building interfaces to their data, to get cool visualizations. And they’re analyzing the data to get a handle on the composition of collections 2, to develop monitoring and evaluation frameworks 3, and to identify gaps and challenges 4. And yes, that includes challenges in data management itself.
Documentation and data management systems required more attention in all genebanks in the study, with no genebank having full passport and inventory data in a searchable data management system, although minimum passport data on 82% of accessions was publicly available in searchable databases, including WIEWS and Genesys. Good quality, well-managed and searchable data on genebank operations are important for accurate and timely decision-making. A common issue was a backlog of data entry, with eight of the genebanks in the study relying to some extent on data retained in paper copy, field books and data sheets. Searching for accession-level data is time-consuming, and paper data sheets may be lost or damaged. Data were also stored in Excel files, making it difficult to query, or genebanks had their own customized data management system that required external support to resolve problems or make improvements. Engels and Ebert (2024) recognized the weak information management systems and online accessibility of accession-level data in national genebanks as a challenge to rationalization, as well as to cost-efficient and effective conservation and use. Despite the increasing use of digital object identifiers for accessions to link accession-level data, the Third Report on the State of the World’s Plant Genetic Resources concluded that progress in the area of documentation has been limited, and training is needed for data managers and genebank managers to adopt available improved data management systems (FAO 2025c).
So, we still have work to do. But imagine what we could achieve if we teamed up with the botanic gardens. And herbaria for that matter.
Agriculture rooted in genebanks, kinda
Diverse Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA) are an important aspect of biodiversity and greater investment in both in-situ and ex-situ conservation of genetic material will be important. PGRFA are essential for agriculture to adapt to environmental stresses, climate change, and changing markets. In 2022, 5.7 million accessions were reportedly conserved in 831 gene banks by 114 countries including through the International Treaty Benefit Sharing Fund. Continuing to meet funding commitments is critical. Cooperation between informal farmer seed systems and gene banks to maintain genetic material could be scaled up.
Could not have put it better myself. And the fact that it comes from a World Bank report (Agriculture Rooted in Biodiversity) advocating for more sustainable agriculture makes it all the sweeter. Check out p. 71 for the agrobiodiversity section. Then on p. 114 you’ll find a recommendation to: “Support in-situ and conservation of plant and animal genetic material for food and agriculture (PGRFA).” Which is a bit weirdly phrased but makes ex situ conservation a bit more explicit when you look at its components:
- Develop partnerships between gene banks and community seed funds to exploit the potential of farmer seed systems to maintain genetic material in-situ and share with gene banks (see case studies in Annex 15).
- Support local seed companies that create markets for locally adapted varieties saved by farmer seed systems (e.g., matching grants to facilitate access to finance for improved seeds facilities.
- Conduct an inventory of breeds and assess extinction risks.