Crop Trust

Ensuring the conservation and availability of crop diversity for food security worldwide
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25/08/2026

This week, the Crop Trust is at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification , highlighting how crop diversity can help restore soils, strengthen agricultural resilience and support food security.

Growing a wider range of crops improves soil health, making farming systems more resilient to drought and other environmental stresses. Healthy soils and crop diversity go hand in hand, each strengthening the other.

On 27 August, we will also join the Global Flagship Initiative for Food Security events to discuss how stronger partnerships can accelerate the development of resilient agrifood systems and sustainable land management.

📍 Global Flagship Initiative for Food Security: From Commitment to Implementation
10:30 to 11:30 | Action Dome

📍 From COP16 to COP17: Advancing Food Security Through Strategic Partnerships and Co-Investment
13:00 to 14:30 | MET 30

At this week? Connect with us in Ulaanbatar!

24/08/2026

"Vegetable biodiversity is one of our greatest resources for improving diets and helping agriculture adapt to a changing climate," said Colin Khoury, Global Conservation Lead at the Crop Trust.

A greater range of options on grocery store shelves could have far-reaching benefits for nutrition, resilient agriculture and food security. Learn more via the link in the comments.

23/08/2026

The Rural Development Administration 대한민국 농촌진흥청 plays a leading role in advancing agricultural research and innovation in the Republic of Korea. Through its National Agrobiodiversity Center, RDA conserves over 250,000 seed samples, while expanding digitization, integrating genomic information and supporting breeding efforts to help agriculture adapt to changing conditions.

As an important contributor to the global genebank system, the Republic of Korea has deposited nearly 48,000 seed samples from 78 crops in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, strengthening the long-term security of crop diversity worldwide.

During our visit this week, the Crop Trust was pleased to strengthen our partnership with RDA by signing a Memorandum of Understanding, reaffirming our shared commitment to conserving crop diversity and making it available for future generations.

The discussions also identified opportunities to deepen collaboration in areas including genebank management, seed quality management, digital sequence information, cryopreservation, capacity development and improving the efficiency of the global genebank system.

During our meeting with officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we discussed the importance of multilateral cooperation and international partnerships in advancing the country's efforts to build more resilient food systems.

20/08/2026

This month, the Crop Trust facilitated the external review of the International Potato Center genebank in Lima, Peru.

The review was conducted by internationally recognized genebank experts Gayle Volk and Hugh Pritchard, together with Nelissa Jamora from the Crop Trust. It assessed the genebank’s compliance with international standards, progress against performance targets, and priorities for ensuring the long-term security, conservation, availability and use of its globally important collections.

The reviewers highlighted the considerable progress made by CIP in recent years, including the establishment of the Cryo Vault and its continued leadership in conserving potato, sweetpotato, and Andean roots and tubers. The review also identified opportunities to expand collaboration with national programs and further strengthen the efficiency and long-term sustainability of operations.

Congratulations to the entire CIP genebank team for its transparency, excellent preparation and continued commitment to safeguarding crop diversity for present and future generations.

CGIAR, CGIAR Genebanks, International Plant Treaty

19/08/2026

Traditional crop varieties are disappearing, but farmers and scientists are working together to bring them back.

In Kenya, researchers partnered with farming communities to collect and conserve finger millet and amaranth before they were lost. Supported by the Crop Trust's Power of Diversity Funding Facility, community seed banks and the national genebank are helping safeguard crop diversity and keep it available for farmers, breeders and future generations.

Watch how local knowledge and science come together to strengthen the future food security.

18/08/2026

This week, the Crop Trust team visited New Zealand to explore opportunities for deeper collaboration in conserving and using crop diversity for global food security.

At the Bioeconomy Science Institute, New Zealand's new national research organization bringing together over 1,500 scientists and researchers, we discussed how advances in genomics, AI, imaging technologies, cryopreservation, collection methodologies and technical training could further strengthen the global genebank system.

Our visit included the recently renovated Margot Forde Genebank in Wellington, which shares data on more than 11,000 accessions through the Genesys portal and has safety duplicated 2,802 accessions in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, contributing to the long term security of valuable crop diversity.

We were also pleased to meet with New Zealand's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Auckland to discuss our shared commitment to strengthening food security and conserving crop diversity across the Pacific. In 2022, the Government of New Zealand contributed NZ$8 million to the Crop Trust Endowment Fund to provide sustainable support for CePaCT, the Pacific Community-SPC's Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees in Fiji. This long term investment helps conserve and make available important Pacific crops, including taro, yam and coconut.

We thank all our New Zealand partners for the warm welcome and look forward to building on these important partnerships.

17/08/2026

Are you passionate about communications, digital content and global food security? The Crop Trust is looking for a Communications Intern to join our team in Bonn, Germany.

You’ll gain hands-on experience supporting website and digital platforms, social media, newsletters, multimedia assets and a wide range of communications activities in an international environment.

Apply now via the link in the comments!

17/08/2026

When power outages, funding gaps, conflict or other crises put genebanks at risk, there is often only a small window to prevent the loss of irreplaceable crop diversity. That is where the Emergency Reserve for Genebanks, managed by the Crop Trust and the International Plant Treaty, comes in. Since its creation, the Emergency Reserve has received more than 30 requests from genebanks in 27 countries, totaling over USD 2.3 million.

This reality reminds us that safeguarding crop diversity is not only about long-term planning. Sometimes it is about acting quickly when collections face an immediate risk. Read more via the link in the comments.

16/08/2026

Every crisp salad needs more than just a lettuce leaf - it starts with crop diversity that needs to be protected.

Lettuce is grown in at least 105 countries, producing around 28 million tonnes each year. A new Crop Trust report shows that genebanks around the world conserve 17,411 lettuce accessions, including more than 3,300 wild relatives that could provide valuable traits for future breeding.

The good news? Around 28% of lettuce accessions are already backed up in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, helping safeguard this diversity. Read the full report via the link in the comments.

15/08/2026

Stay connected to the latest in crop diversity and food security with The Dish, our monthly newsletter.
Each edition brings updates on our work, partnerships and insights from the global genebank community. Missed an issue? You can explore all past editions on our website.
Subscribe via the link in the comments.

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