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From cutting-edge research to work saving seeds in communities, even our small actions can have a big impact on saving crop diversity and putting it to good use. Read the latest news highlighting these efforts and more.
Latest Article
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
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Svalbard, A Day in the Life
Polar Bears, Choirs and Camaraderie
Touching base with Åsmund Asdal, Seed Vault Coordinator, NordGen
Coronavirus SARD-CoV-2 (COVID-19) continues to significantly impact so many of us around the world. With countries on...
1 May 2020
1 May 2020
Climate-proofing Our Foods With Crop Wild Relatives
This year we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Climate change represents the biggest challenge to the future of humanity and to our foods. Although farmers have been adapting crops for thousands of years through the...
22 Apr 2020
22 Apr 2020
Cryopreservation and the Future of Plant Conservation
It might come as a surprise that there are many crops that can’t be conserved in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Aside from today’s star the banana, these include favorites like: cacao, cassava, coffee, potato, sweetpotato,...
15 Apr 2020
15 Apr 2020
A COVID-19 Update by Stefan Schmitz
Stefan Schmitz, Executive Director
The values of multilateralism have never been so important
As I write, one third of the world’s population is in “lockdown”. Governments are demanding that their citizens stay at home. New...
8 Apr 2020
8 Apr 2020
Hidden Opportunities in the Unique Produce Panic Shoppers Leave Behind
In the whirlwind of the last several months, the global pandemic COVID-19 has altered the way many of us run our lives as we trade trousers for sweatpants, staff meetings for video conferences guest-starring our pets. And like...
7 Apr 2020
7 Apr 2020
Potatoes for a Changing Climate
Climate change is reducing potato yields in some important production areas due to more drought, heat, and diseases like late blight and bacterial wilt.
Our partners from the International Potato Center (CIP) are working with the...
23 Mar 2020
'Tip of the Iceberg' by Stefan Schmitz, Crop Trust Executive Director
Stefan Schmitz | Executive Director
In November 2019, it was my honor to accept the position of Executive Director of the Crop Trust. While new to the role, I am already familiar with much of the Crop Trust’s excellent work, not...
23 Mar 2020
23 Mar 2020
Arctic Call to Action on Food Security and Climate Change
25 February 2020 | Svalbard, Norway
Originally posted here.
UN Secretary-General Mr Antonio Guterres has called for a decade of action and delivery to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. With just 10 years...
4 Mar 2020
4 Mar 2020
The President of Ghana Speaks at the Seed Summit
On 25 February 2020, the largest deposit since the Seed Vault's opening in 2008 (in terms of the number of institutions to send seeds at one time) took place in Svalbard as representative from over 30 different genebanks came to...
4 Mar 2020
4 Mar 2020
The Last Crop Before the Desert
“I’ve never seen barley looking this great before!” El Kbir Safraoui couldn’t hold back his excitement about the crop growing in his fields. And he had seen a lot of barley in his lifetime of farming in central Morocco.
Safraoui...
3 Mar 2020
Orchards, Cold Cider and the Global Strategy for Apple
“Them Crow Eggs, Bellflowers, Staymans, Limbertwigs, they're all sweet little cuties, but there ain't no apple in this world like a Virginia Beauty.” -- Jim Veteto
Jim Veteto strums a self-penned ode on his guitar, a jar of...
7 Jan 2020
7 Jan 2020