Supporting Genebanks
The Crop Trust works to ensure stable, predictable funding for an efficient and effective global system of crop diversity collections, forever.
Supporting the World's Genebanks
Genebanks safeguard the seeds and plant material of almost every crop we grow and eat. By conserving this crop diversity in one place, they provide an effective and cost-effective way to keep it safe, available and ready to meet the food challenges of the future.
Yet many genebanks operate under constant uncertainty. Short-term or unpredictable funding makes long-term planning difficult. Unreliable energy supplies can put collections at risk, while conflict and other crises can threaten both genebanks and the crop diversity they safeguard.
Predictable, assured long-term funding for genebanks is vital. Without it, the world could lose valuable crop diversity forever. The Crop Trust provides consistent funding to key genebanks through the Crop Trust Endowment Fund that guarantees sustainable support for an efficient global system of genebanks.
This mission is only possible thanks to the ongoing commitment and support of our partners and donors.
Securing Crop Diversity, Forever
Through our Endowment Fund and with the contributions of our donors, the Crop Trust supports key international genebanks around the world and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault. Click on each genebank to learn more about their collection.
- International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)* – Support since 2012, holding over 128,000 accessions of rice varieties and wild relatives in The Philippines
- International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)* – Support since 2007, holding large and diverse collections of beans, tropical forages and cassava in Colombia
- International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)* – Support since 2007, conserving banana, cassava, yam, maize, soybean and crops such as Bambara groundnut, cowpea and African yam in Nigeria
- AfricaRice* – Support since 2012, holding the world’s most extensive collection of African rice (Oryza glaberrima) at its facility in Côte d'Ivoire
- Bioversity International Musa Germplasm Transit Centre – Support since 2007, holding banana and plantain samples maintained as tissue culture and in cryopreservation in Belgium
- International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) – Support since 2008, holding wheat and maize collections in Mexico
- International Potato Center (CIP) – Support since 2011, holding seed, in vitro and cryobank collections of potato, sweetpotato and Andean root and tuber crops in Peru
- International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA) – Support since 2007, holding barley, chickpea, grasspea, lentil and wheat in Morocco and crop wild relatives of cereals and legumes in Lebanon
- International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-arid Tropics (ICRISAT)* – Support since 2007, holding chickpea, groundnut, pigeonpea, sorghum and various millets in India and Africa
- International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) – Support since 2007, holding over 1,700 tropical forage species, mainly wild species, in Ethiopia
- SPC Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePaCT) – Support since 2009, the only Pacific regional genebank conserving crop and tree diversity in Fiji
- World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) – Support since 2023, the only global institution solely dedicated to vegetable research and development, with genebanks in Taiwan and Tanzania
- The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and World Agroforestry (ICRAF)* – Support since 2012, holding tree species for fruit, timber, medicines and more, as seed and in field genebanks in Africa and in many other countries
* Genebanks that have met agreed performance targets and benefit from support for a higher proportion of essential operating costs. These agreements are reviewed every five years. As the Endowment Fund grows, the Crop Trust aims to progressively increase this support.
Support for National Genebanks
With the support of our donors, the Crop Trust also provides project funding to national genebanks in low- and middle-income countries. This support helps upgrade facilities, improve processes and strengthen staff capacity.
System Wide Services
Strong genebanks depend on a strong global system. The Crop Trust supports services to digitize genebanks, build expertise, improve quality management systems, coordination and reduce risks, while protecting Endowment Fund resources for the long-term conservation of vital crop collections.
- GRIN-Global Community Edition - GGCE
- Genesys
- Genebank Academy
- Crop Conservation Strategies
- Genebank Quality Management
- Genebank Reviews
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