All latest news and events
Guardian Reports: Brazilian Beans and Japanese Barley to Svalbard
The Guardian reports on the addition of Brazilian beans and Japanese Barley to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.
Some 20,000 plant species from more than 100 countries and institutions will be added to the global seed bank in...
26 Feb 2014
26 Feb 2014
Potatoes, the Underground Heroes
The potato is the world's number three food, feeding more than a billion people. But potato late blight may be the world's number one plant disease threat.
The fungus-like organism known as late blight is probably the worst...
16 Dec 2013
16 Dec 2013
The New Indian Express: 'Conserving Seeds in Genebanks Vital'
The New Indian Express reports on the importance of conserving seeds in genebanks.
Marie Haga, executive director of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, who hails from Norway has called for the conservation of seeds in gene banks so...
25 Nov 2013
25 Nov 2013
The Hindu: Protect Crop Diversity to Feed All, Says Expert
The Hindu reports on Marie Haga's lecture at the invitation of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation.
Ms. Haga, a former politician from Norway, was in Chennai on Friday to deliver the millennium lecture on ‘Feeding a growing...
23 Nov 2013
23 Nov 2013
Sorghum: Lessons from a survivor
Sorghum comes in a strong fifth among the world's important cereal crops – and nothing else matches its diversity of forms and uses.
A stalwart of hot and dry areas, sorghum demands few inputs and provides more than just grain in...
19 Nov 2013
19 Nov 2013
Fact-checking the zeitgeist
By LUIGI GUARINO | Director of Science and Programs
We use 43 muscles to frown but only 17 to smile. 89.2% of all statistics are made up on the spot. You can probably think of examples. Numbers such as these have been repeated so...
19 Nov 2013
19 Nov 2013
Let there be German Bread
By LUIGI GUARINO | Director of Science and Programs
There’s a reason why the tag line for the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization is “Fiat panis,” or “Let there be bread.” Bread is more than simply a food, it’s a potent symbol...
15 Oct 2013
15 Oct 2013




