Is the Global System on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture performing at its best?

If we look at the past 10 years, we’ve gone a long way in conserving plant genetic resources. Rapid technological progress, coupled with a deepened understanding of plant genetics, has enabled scientists and conservationists to develop innovative strategies for preserving and managing a wealth of crop species crucial for global #foodsecurity and environmental sustainability.

Highlights from our journey

As CGIAR , we’ve been actively taking part in this journey. Our 11 gene banks conserve around 700,000 accessions of ?3000 species of 30 crops in 12 locations across 5 continents. Our in-trust #genebanks act like pumps, pulling in and circulating plant genetic resources around the globe. They distribute 50-100K samples to 100+ countries every year, of which, more than 80% goes to the Global South, reaching a vast array of users, from small communities to advanced research institutes. Since 2012, 360,000 unique accessions have been distributed.

CGIAR gene banks and breeding programs counted together are also responsible for nearly 90% of the movement of germplasm internationally under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA). As such, our in-trust collections constitute major providers of genetic material across the Multi-Lateral System and an extraordinary sample of how to pool, manage and leverage global public goods. The system works – look at how ICARDA has managed to reinstate its collection in Syria from the war by moving it into the Svalbard seed vault and back into Morocco and Egypt where it keeps meeting its mandate.

Beyond #biodiversity conservation, our gene banks also provide a platform for #cropbreeding and knowledge sharing. The genetic material part of our collections provides useful traits that are used to develop improved crops that are more nutritious and can withstand the effects of #climatechange. 33 collaborative crop breeding networks involve 1,200 partners across 135 countries. This collaboration promotes the development of region-specific crop varieties tailored to local conditions.

In addition, CGIAR gene banks work hand in hand with national research institutions #NARS and local communities to strengthen their capacities in breeding, conservation, data management and gene bank standards. Future Seeds is an example of this . Hosted in the Palmira campus of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT , in Colombia, #FutureSeeds is a hub for conservation, knowledge generation and capacity sharing.

Lessons Learned

One lesson that we’ve learned in the past years is that #partnerships with national programs are crucial for our gene banks to fulfill their mission of #foodsystems transformation. But engaging with local communities and #farmers is also crucial as understanding the needs and challenges of specific regions helps to tailor crop varieties to local conditions, ensuring greater adoption and impact.

Besides, we’ve learned to expand our collections and work beyond traditional crops, to include Neglected and Underutilized species #NUS. Lots of NUS are not yet conserved, or systematically studied, because they are not part of the Multi-Lateral System. These crops are often well adapted to local climate conditions, nutrient-dense and resilient to pests and diseases, traits that are extremely useful to breed new varieties. Our learnings around staple crops can greatly benefit the conservation and mainstreaming of these great “opportunity” crops. ?

Finally, we’ve learned that conservation needs to also happen also in the field, through use of these crops species and varieties so they can also withstand biotic and abiotic pressures and keep evolving. Only by using and creating market demand for them, will we be able to conserve these crops in the long-term.

Challenges ahead of us

During this journey, we’ve also realized that many challenges still lie ahead of us. While in the past decades we have achieved great results, the Global System is still underperforming.

First, we need a better understanding of materials conserved at the country level. While there have been some efforts by different CGIAR Centers and partners to map these collections, we don’t know much about the overall percentage of global plant genetic diversity conserved in country gene banks and in the field.

And when information exists, it is still difficult to access and share it. Article 17 of the Plant Treaty established the Global Information System on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, a platform that should have worked as a platform to facilitate the exchange of information on scientific, technical and environmental matters related to plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. However, a still relatively small number of organizations and countries are sharing information on the diversity they conserve through this system.

This is also due to the fact that the Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) mechanism is not performing at its best - especially on the benefit sharing side. This is therefore a disincentive for parties to raise their ambitions and number of crops shared under a multilateral system. The Treaty has had some positive impact on access and sharing of #PGRFA, but many would-be providers are still holding back due to insatisfaction on current monetary benefit sharing mechanisms and to emerging challenges such as sharing Digital Sequences Information #DSI associated with genetic resources. We could do more to establish practical monitory systems and to encourage more non-monetary benefit sharing linked directly or indirectly to #ABS systems set up under the Plant Treaty, the Nagoya protocol and the recently approved Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework #KMGBF. ??

Finally, we need better coordination and sharing of responsibilities. While we have multiple instruments of coordination, including the Treaty, the Second Global Plan of Action, and gene bank standards, there is not an integrated structure, or operational framework, that acknowledges complementarities and sets a clear division of responsibilities, and the different parts of the Global System still work in relative independence, including the National Systems that have a central role to play.

As we navigate an era of unprecedented environmental challenges, it will be crucial to optimize the Global System. To do so, the various institutions working on plant genetic resources will need to work closely on a common vision, where the actions of the different entities are better coordinated and where each organization can leverage its comparative advantage. As CGIAR, we are ready to make available our knowledge, infrastructure, and network of gene banks, to strengthen conservation capacities at the country level and support the delivery of the #ITPGRFA objectives on the ground, without which the SDGs will be even more difficult to be met.