Posted on 31-8-2002

Genebanks Underfunded

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, August 29, 2002 (ENS) - A lack of funding for
agricultural gene banks could lead to the loss of a large proportion of the
world's collection of crop diversity, warns a new report from researchers
from the Department of Agricultural Sciences at Imperial College in London.

In a report released today at the United Nations (UN) World Summit on
Sustainable Development, professor Jeff Waage, head of the department,
warns that many genebanks are now unable to fulfill basic conservation
functions, putting at risk the crop diversity that underpins a stable and
sustainable world food supply. The report, "Crop diversity at risk: the
case for sustaining crop collections," provides the latest picture of
genebank performance. It compares data from 99 countries collected by the
UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in 2000 to similar data from 151
governments collected by the FAO in 1996.

The researchers found that although the number of plant samples held in
crop diversity collections has increased in 66 percent of the studied
countries, genebank budgets have been cut back in 25 percent of countries
and remained static in another 35 percent. Samples held in genebanks must
be periodically planted and new seed harvested in order to keep seed stocks
viable, and a backlog in this regeneration process is a strong indication
of a critical lack of resources, the authors warn. The report notes that
more than half of developing countries and 27 percent of developed
countries have reported an increase in the number of plant samples in
urgent need of regeneration. "Most people assume the crop diversity that
scientists have already collected from cultivated fields is safe. We found
that this is not necessarily the case," said Professor Waage. "In fact,
many critical genebank collections are in a precarious state. If these
collections are allowed to fail, then we will lose the valuable crop
diversity they contain forever." In order to safeguard future crop
diversity, the report calls for the establishment of a permanent
international endowment, funded by public and private sources, to support
the maintenance of the world's most critical collections. "The data points
us to one major conclusion: genebanks can no longer rely on uncertain
annual sources of funding - as most do now - to fulfill their perpetual
responsibility for maintaining the diversity of plants that are essential
for food security," Waage explained.

Genebanks hold a significant portion of the world's agricultural heritage
and provide the last sanctuary for a growing number of crop wild relatives.
These include the cassava, a starchy root crop that is a staple food in
parts of Africa and Asia, and the tomato, whose wild relatives are
approaching extinction due to deforestation and development. Wild species
of coffee, grape and wheat also join the list of wild crop relatives facing
genetic erosion - a process that can lead to extinction. On farm losses are
also increasing as farmers give up traditional crop varieties in favor of
high yielding modern types. The FAO estimates that about three-quarters of
the original varieties of agricultural crops have been lost from farm
fields since 1900. Such losses include wheat varieties in China, maize in
Mexico and soybean in the United States.

The wheat species Triticum monococcum gives an example of the vital role
that genebanks can play. Although widely grown for bread throughout the
ancient Roman Empire, it is now almost lost, with relic populations
existing only in Turkey and possibly Yemen. However, because of its high
fiber content, T. monococcum is once again in demand and a project has been
established to bring back this crop using samples stored in genebanks.
"Both on farm diversity and wild crop relatives are sources of rare genetic
traits needed for coping with environmental stress, plant disease and
pests," said Waage. "Knowing this, countries have undertaken important
efforts to expand their crop diversity collections. A main task now is to
ensure the safety of those collections and their accessibility to farmers,
plant breeders and researchers."