Ghana Genebank Becomes the 100th Depositor to Svalbard Global Seed Vault

Published at: Oct 27 2023 - 08:55 / Updated at: Oct 27 2023 - 08:55

Ghana joins 15 other institutions, including one other first-time depositor – the Bonn University Botanic Gardens (Germany) – in safeguarding duplicates of their seed collections inside the Vault.

The Svalbard Global Seed Vault safeguards over 1.2 million seed samples, making it the world’s largest collection of crop diversity in one single location. For 15 years, the Seed Vault has welcomed genebanks from across the world to conserve copies of their seed diversity. This diversity is needed to adapt agrifood systems to a rapidly changing climate and other environmental challenges.

The Ghanaian deposit comes from the Plant Genetic Resources Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR-PGRRI). It includes key crops for the country's food security, health, and culinary culture. It also holds maize, rice, eggplant, and cowpea varieties.

ALSO READ: New Seeds to Svalbard Will Strengthen World Food Security