ISAAA November 8, 2023

Figure: On top of the world: Svalbard Global Seed Vault now stores close to 1.2 million seed samples from almost every country on the planet. Photo Source: Cierra Martin for Crop Trust

On October 24, 2023, Ghana became the 100th country to deposit seeds in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, joining 15 other institutions that are delivering rare seed varieties to the Global Seed Vault for the occasion of its 15th anniversary, including one other first-time depositor, the Bonn University Botanic Gardens of Germany.

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, including maize, rice, eggplant, and cowpea varieties. This is an important step towards ensuring the long-term protection of the country's major food crops.

Nestled in an Arctic mountain on the remote island of Spitsbergen, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault safeguards over 1.2 million seed samples, making it the world's largest collection of crop diversity at a single location. For 15 years, the Seed Vault has welcomed genebanks from across the world to conserve copies of their seed diversity. Following this latest deposit, the Seed Vault now holds ‘copies' of seeds safeguarded in genebanks located in 74 countries. In October, genebanks in Kenya, Nigeria, and Zambia also sent back-ups of their collections to the Global Seed Vault.

For more details, read the news article on the Crop Trust website.