This week, more than 14,000 seed samples from 21 genebanks are being stored in the chilly chambers of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.
Among these samples are vital varieties of sorghum and pearl millet from Sudan’s crop genebank, which faced near destruction during the country’s civil war. The deposit also includes “velvet beans” from Malawi, beneficial for both sustainable agriculture and traditional medicine; crucial food crops from a Philippine genebank affected by typhoons and fires; and an extensive collection of over 3,000 varieties of rice, beans, and maize from Brazil, which is hosting this year’s global climate negotiations.
This deposit represents a significant milestone in international collaboration and is part of the safety duplication initiative of the Biodiversity for Opportunities, Livelihoods, and Development (BOLD) project, according to a press release. This 10-year effort, generously funded by the Norwegian government and managed by the Crop Trust, aims to provide “safety duplicates” of genebank collections in different locations. However, many genebanks struggle with the time, effort, and funding required for duplication. The BOLD project has offered technical and financial assistance to 42 partners worldwide, with 10 participating in the ceremony in Svalbard this week.
Additionally, this deposit marks the 66th contribution to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which has received seed samples from 123 genebanks across 85 countries since its opening in February 2008.
This moment is a powerful reminder that securing our food future requires collective action,” said Stefan Schmitz, executive director of the Crop Trust.
“Through our partnerships, including the BOLD project, we’ve worked with institutions around the world to safeguard vital crop diversity. The seeds deposited this week represent not just biodiversity, but also the knowledge, culture and resilience of the communities that steward them. We must find a way to protect this crop diversity for generations to come.”
After the deposit ceremony, the inaugural Svalbard International Dialogue will convene high-level government officials, crop experts, and global thought leaders to address the challenge of preserving crop diversity in the face of growing environmental pressures and rising global conflicts.
The involvement of genebanks from countries such as the Philippines and Sudan highlights the Seed Vault’s vital role as a protective measure against the twin crises of climate change and conflict.
Sudan’s Deposit: A Testament to Resilience
This week marks Sudan’s sixth deposit at the Seed Vault, following its first in 2019, during a time when the country has been embroiled in civil war since 2023. The Sudanese national genebank, based in Wad Medani, had preserved over 17,000 seeds, but militants recently raided and looted the freezers, scattering the valuable seeds. With support from the Emergency Reserve for Genebanks — a funding facility managed by the Crop Trust and the FAO International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources — hundreds of seed samples were transported to NordGen, where staff sorted, cataloged, packed, and documented them for this week’s deposit.
Sudan is contributing seed samples from 15 species, including numerous varieties of sorghum, which has been cultivated in the region for thousands of years and is integral to Sudanese cultural heritage. Sorghum plays a critical role in the country’s food security, as its drought-resistant qualities make it essential for adapting to climate change.
“In Sudan, where conflict has displaced more than eight million people and disrupted agriculture, these seeds represent hope,” said Ali Babikar, director of Sudan’s Agricultural Plant Genetic Resources Conservation and Research Centre (APGRC). “By safeguarding this diversity in Svalbard, we’re preserving options for a resilient, food-secure future, regardless of the challenges we face.”
The Philippines’ Contribution: A Mega-Biodiverse Nation at Risk
This week, another significant deposit is coming from the Philippines, a nation characterized by both remarkable genetic diversity and heightened vulnerability to crises. The Philippines ranks first on the World Risk Index, which assesses vulnerability and exposure to extreme natural events, and is one of only 18 countries designated as “mega-biodiverse.”
The country has already faced severe losses to its seed stocks due to extreme events. In 2006, Typhoon Milenyo struck the national genebank, inundating seed collections with knee-deep water and mud, resulting in the loss of many samples. Then, in 2012, a fire ravaged the genebank building, destroying 60% of the in vitro crop collections, many of which had no backups anywhere else in the world.
However, with international support, the Philippines is taking crucial steps to preserve its agricultural diversity. Through the BOLD Project, representatives from the Philippines are visiting Svalbard this week to deposit seeds of eggplant, rice bean, lima bean, and sorghum.
“The rapid loss of genetic diversity in the field and loss of diversity in our diets make conservation and accessibility more important than ever,” said Hidelisa De Chavez of the University of the Philippines, adding that crop diversity “is the backbone of agriculture around the world.”
Malawi, another partner in the BOLD Project, is making a deposit this week that features velvet beans. This opportunity crop helps farmers increase production while maintaining soil health and provides significant medicinal benefits.
Malawi’s Contribution: The Importance of the Velvet Bean
Locally known as kalongonda and scientifically referred to as Mucuna pruriens, the seed pods of velvet beans are covered in a dense layer of fine, velvety hairs, which inspired the plant’s common name. As a nitrogen-fixing legume, velvet beans can more than double maize yields when used as a fertilizer. Additionally, this species is valued in traditional medicine for its high levels of levodopa, a compound used to alleviate symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.
“Crop diversity reduces the risk of food crises at local, regional, sub-regional and global levels,” said Nolipher Mponya, an agricultural research scientist who works for the government of Malawi. “By conserving crop diversity, we are protecting the future of our foods. We are also maintaining the genes for crop improvement, feed and habitat for pollinators and ensuring the direct and indirect health and economic benefits from these crops.”
Safeguarding Global Crops: The Legacy of the BOLD Project
Since its launch, the BOLD Project has awarded grants to 42 genebank partners across 30 countries, empowering them to regenerate, clean, and process seeds of both staple and opportunity crops for long-term conservation. Many of these partners are local nonprofit organizations or university genebanks that house unique genetic diversity often absent from national and international genebanks. Africa boasts the largest representation within the BOLD network, with 23 partners from 15 countries.
This week in Svalbard, BOLD partners include representatives from Armenia, Brazil, Nigeria, Malawi, Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Philippines, Suriname, and Zimbabwe.
