The CGIAR Genebank Initiative strengthens the global genebank system in conserving and making available a wide variety of plant genetic resources vital for the development of climate-adapted crops and resilient food systems.
Food systems have become overly dependent on a handful of crop species. This, and the loss of biodiversity, makes agriculture less resilient and nutritional security more precarious. CGIAR’s 11 genebanks help address this by conserving, managing and distributing crop and plant diversity for a wide range of uses.
Located in diversity hotspots on five continents, the genebanks hold over 700,000 accessions (seeds, tissue culture, tubers, cryopreserved samples, trees and plants) of 3,000 species. The collections include traditional varieties, wild species and other materials that are hard or impossible to obtain from other sources.
The plant material in genebanks gives options to breeders, researchers and farmers who are working to ensure nutritious food is available in a changing climate. Samples are freely available under the terms of the International Plant Treaty. In 2023 alone, CGIAR genebanks distributed over 200,000 samples to users around the world.
CGIAR genebanks are funded by contributions to the CGIAR Trust Fund and the Crop Trust Endowment Fund.
Key areas of work include:
Biodiversity conservation: CGIAR genebanks continuously improve and harmonize processes for seed quality management, cryopreservation, automation, data management, and seed phenotyping.
Proactively helping users access germplasm (plant material): CGIAR genebanks characterize the genetic diversity of collections and co-develop online portals, digital tools and subsets to continuously improve the genebank user’s experience.
Phytosanitary health: Germplasm Health Units (GHUs) enable the safe distribution of germplasm and other bioresources, prevent the spread of pests and diseases between countries and regions, and ensure that CGIAR Centers comply with international standards.
Access and benefit sharing: CGIAR engages in international negotiations to develop new access and benefit-sharing laws and regulations. This impacts how genetic resources and digital sequence information can be exchanged and used in research and development and how benefits flow to low- and middle-income countries.
Global level role: CGIAR offers capacity sharing, online courses and resources for researchers to strengthen the global community of genebanks, phytosanitary agencies, and the enabling policy environment that surrounds them. This enhances worldwide capacity in conserving and safely exchanging plant diversity.
