Landmark Launches in Lima

We organized the Crop Diversity Day 2025 in Lima in advance of GB-11 with focus on innovation and partnerships, kicking off a week of engagement for the Crop Trust. 

Co-hosted by the International Plant Treaty Secretariat and the International Potato Centre (CIP), the Day gathered experts and decision makers to explore how action on crop diversity can shape a more resilient, nutritious and equitable future. This event featured perspectives from thought leaders and notable highlights:

• First deposit to the CIP Cryo Vault – This new cryopreservation facility, the first of its kind in Latin America, officially received its first deposit, potatoes and groundnut from Ecuador’s Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Agropecuarias (INIAP). 
• Launch of Vegetables4Life – This global initiative led by the World Vegetable Center brought opportunity crops into the spotlight and reflects growing momentum to rescue, conserve and promote the use of vegetable biodiversity. 
• Launch of the Genebank Academy – Hosted online by the Crop Trust, this new platform provides access to high-quality online training for genebank professionals, students and researchers worldwide.

Following Crop Diversity Day 2025, the Crop Trust organized two notable events. A coordination meeting was held to engage genebanks included under Article 15 of the Treaty. Then, the  Global Conservation Consortium for Food Plants launched in Lima. This new initiative connects botanical gardens, genebanks and other Treaty stakeholders to protect edible biodiversity for future generations. A Global Steering Committee – including the Crop Trust, Botanic Gardens Conservation International, the International Plant Treaty and leading gardens and genebanks – sets the direction of the initiative, led by the New York Botanical Garden for the first five years.

During the GB-11 week in the Peruvian capital, the Crop Trust played several key roles. The Crop Trust was represented in the opening session by Chair of the Executive Board Catherine Bertini, reported to Treaty Contracting Parties, and organized side events on the Svalbard Global Seed Vault and the Global Crop Conservation Strategies. 

At the opening of GB-11, Catherine Bertini called for collective action, saying, “Our food tomorrow depends on the diversity we safeguard today. Let us act with unity, urgency and vision to protect the foundations of agriculture”.

To engage attendees at GB-11, the Crop Trust co-hosted The Journey of a Seed interactive exhibition. This immersive experience traced the path of crop diversity – from nature and farmers' fields to genebanks for conservation and research, to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault or the CIP CryoVault for safety duplication, and back to fields as improved crop varieties.