Twenty Years of the Crop Trust

Looking back, our achievements can be traced to the strong foundations laid in our early years. The Endowment Fund was created in our first year to provide a sustainable, long-term financing mechanism to protect crop diversity in perpetuity. Over the past two decades, the fund has grown from almost USD 9.5 million at the end of 2004 to USD 357 million by the end of 2024.

The organization’s leadership also played a crucial role in shaping its success – Dr. Geoffrey Hawtin, appointed as firstExecutive Director in 2004, and Dr. Cary Fowler, who took over as Executive Director in 2005. These pioneers' lifelong contributions to the conservation of crop diversity were recognized in 2024 when they were jointly awarded the prestigious World Food Prize.

Within its first three years, the fledgling organization launched the Global Crop Conservation Strategies, signed its first long-term grant with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and initiated a massive rescue of over 240 at-risk crop collections worldwide.

Our first decade saw several major milestones. In 2008, the Crop Trust partnered with the Government of Norway to establish the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, the ultimate backup for the world’s genebanks. This was followed by the 2011 launch of a global effort to safeguard and harness the diversity of the wild relatives of crops for climate change adaptation.  We also created Genesys, the world’s largest database of genebank collections. 

Our second decade did not see us slowing down. The Food Forever Initiative was launched to promote awareness of UN Sustainable Development Goal #2 Zero Hunger. The Seeds for Resilience project partnered with five national genebanks in Africa to help build their capacity to conserve crop diversity and share it with farmers. The Templeton Pre-Breeding Project expanded the genetic diversity of grasspea and finger millet, and the BOLD project built on the success of the Crop Wild Relatives project.

Strong partnerships have been central to the Crop Trust’s work. Over the past decade, long-term agreements have been signed with IRRI, the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, ensuring stable funding for the bulk of the essential operations of their international genebanks. Partnerships with CGIAR through the CGIAR Research Program and Genebank Platform provided coordination and sustained financial support to 11 international genebanks, bolstering their conservation efforts.

Visionary leadership has continued to guide the Crop Trust’s progress. Over the past decade, Executive Directors Marie Haga and Stefan Schmitz have pursued the organization’s mission with dedication, setting a high standard for the future.

As we celebrated the Crop Trust’s 20th anniversary, we reflected on two decades of remarkable achievements and looked ahead with optimism. Together with our partners, we can make the next 20 years even more transformative than our first.

Explore a detailed timeline of our history on the 20 Years of the Crop Trust page.