Skip to content
Genebanks, the living libraries of crop diversity, benefit from following a Quality Management System, or QMS. This ensures that nothing goes wrong in the journey of a seed into, around, and out of the genebank. In this image, staff of the Genetics, Biotechnology and Seed Science (GBioS) unit at the University d’Abomey-Calavi in Benin inspects seeds conserved in a freezer. Photo: Neil Palmer/Crop Trust
News

Quality at the Heart of Crop Diversity Conservation

Every seed in a genebank is on a journey. 

The journey starts when the seed is collected in the field, continues through various stages of cleaning and drying, takes a bit of a pause in long-term storage, and eventually continues...

21 Nov 2025

News

Morocco’s Genebank Steps Up: From Settat to Svalbard

In a wheat field an hour’s drive south of Casablanca, Dr Ali Sahri and his team pose for a photo as the swaying spikes tickle their legs. Behind their smiles lies an awesome responsibility: to safeguard Morocco’s unique crop...

24 Oct 2025

Celebration Meets Urgency at Latest Seed Vault Opening in Svalbard
News

Celebration Meets Urgency at Latest Seed Vault Opening in Svalbard

LONGYEARBYEN, NORWAY, 22 October 2025 – Twenty genebanks representing every continent bar Antarctica deposited more than 21,000 seed samples to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault this week. Among them were new contributors from the...

22 Oct 2025

News

Ecuador’s Model Genebank

Ecuador may be small in size, but it’s big in biodiversity. With landscapes that stretch from the Amazon to the Andes and even include the Galápagos Islands, this South American country is home to many plants and animals found...

20 Oct 2025

New Climate-Resilient Alfalfa Gives Hope to Drought-Stricken Farmers in Kazakhstan
News

New Climate-Resilient Alfalfa Gives Hope to Drought-Stricken Farmers in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan releases its first drought- and heat-tolerant variety of alfalfa, one of the world’s most important feed crops.  Developed thanks to wild relatives seeds stored in local and global genebanks, the new variety...

9 Oct 2025

News

BOLDER’s Citizen Science Approach Unlocks New Opportunities for Underutilized Crops in Benin and Tanzania

During the first few hours of daylight – before the sun gets high and it’s too hot outside – experimental fields at the World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) research station in Cotonou, Benin, are buzzing with activity. Solar-powered...

30 Jun 2025

News

Vietnam Recognizes its First-Ever Rice Variety Derived from Crop Wild Relatives

Plant Breeders Innovate Against Climate Change 

Vietnam's agriculture is at a crossroads. Extreme weather events, higher temperatures and unpredictable rainfall are putting pressure on the country’s food supply and disrupting...

20 Jun 2025

Heritage and Health Take Center Stage at the Latest Svalbard Global Seed Vault Deposit
News

Heritage and Health Take Center Stage at the Latest Svalbard Global Seed Vault Deposit

As genebanks around the world deposit seed samples in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault this week, the focus is on how crop diversity reflects cultural heritage.

LONGYEARBYEN, NORWAY, 3 June 2025 – Fourteen genebanks will deposit...

3 Jun 2025

The Wow Potatoes of Kenya: Fighting Late Blight with Farmer-Approved, Disease-Resistant Spuds
News

The Wow Potatoes of Kenya: Fighting Late Blight with Farmer-Approved, Disease-Resistant Spuds

Fighting Late Blight with Farmer-Approved, Disease-Resistant Spuds

30 May 2025

Ugandan Farmers Teach Scientists to Rethink Seed Systems
News

Ugandan Farmers Teach Scientists to Rethink Seed Systems

Training Course in Uganda Taps Community Knowledge of Seed Systems

26 May 2025

Scroll to top

Show cookie settings