conserving crop diversity ex situ: how are we doing?

Conserving Crop Diversity in GenebanksHow are we doing?

10/24/15

• on what you mean, and

• on what kind of mood you’re inDr Jekyll or Mr Hyde

Well, it depends...

• Quantity

• Data

• Collaboration

• Quality

• Use

• Policy

What do you mean?

What does Dr Jekyll think?

• 7.4 million accessions1.4 million more than 10 years ago

• 1.9-2.2 million unique

• 1,750 genebanks130 with >10,000

• 850K in Svalbard

Quantity

• World Information & Early Warning System (WIEWS)

• National Information Sharing Mechanism (NISM)

• Lots of genebank databases national, regional, internationalincreasing interest in GRIN-Global

• Genesys2,775,608 accessions, 406 genebanks

Data & metadata

• Regional PGR networks covering whole worldECPGRNENAPGRN

• Various crop networksMusa

• CGIAR genebanks working together, and with

national programmes

Collaboration

• CIMMYT & ICARDA with Turkey

• ICARDA with Morocco, Lebanon, Greece...

CGIAR Centers & national genebanks

• Seed conservation methods well understood & established

• Improving processesbarcodingautomation

• Performance indicators and targets

• QMS (including ISO certification)

• Risk management

• Svalbard for safety duplication in case all else fails

Quality

• Lots of evidence of increased, innovative use

• Making use easiercoresmini-cores“trait” subsets (FIGS)

• Game-changing molecular technologies (+bioinformatics)DivSeek

Use

More data, more quickly, for less money

Recent variety releases in India

• State of the World 2 and counting...

• Global Plan of Action (GPA) 2 and counting...

• Global crop strategies

• International Treaty on PGRFAMLS enhancement process

Policy

So what does Dr Jekyll think?

Actually, we’re doingpretty well!

But what does Mr Hyde think?

• 1.9-2-2 million unique accessions? Well, which is it?

• How much is in the MLS?

• How much is dead?16%? (Crop Trust regeneration project)

Quantity

• WIEWS looks like it’s archived

• NISM is just snapshots from a subset of countries, not

being updated?

• 2.8 million accessions in Genesys?Is that all? Where are the others?Discrepancies (eg VIR)

Data & metadata

• Networks? Nice, but what value do they really add to national efforts?Do they have enough resources?Look what’s happening to the Article 15 coconut genebank in PNG!

Collaboration

• Networks? How many actually work!

• And what have the CGIAR genebanks done for me lately

anyway?

Collaboration

• We still don’t know enough, even about seed storage

Quality

• We still don’t know enough, even about seed storage

• Basic challenges remain in many countriesseed dryingdata management

• Only 50 non-CGIAR genebanks have deposited in Svalbard

• QMS? What about mistakes we’ve made in the past?

• Do we even agree on all terminology?

• And as for cryo...the less said the better

Quality

• How well do we know our users?

• How often do they tell us if they found what they were

looking for?

• The idea of DivSeek is all well and good, but when are we

going to see results?

Use

• We have no idea how well we’re doing in implementing the GPA

• The MLS is not generating enough $$$ for the BSF from users,

and maybe never will

• Not everybody is on board

• There are so many rules!

Policy

What does Mr Hyde think?

We’re doomed!

What do you think?

Are you a Jekyll or a Hyde?

Will the vision of the future change your mind?

So, how are we really doing?

Maybe it would be easier to decide

if we were able to measure impact better...

and that really means getting our data in order

and our success stories straight

Here’s what I think (for now)

THANK YOU

WWW.CROPTRUST.ORG