Supporting International Genebanks

In 2025, the Crop Trust strengthened crop diversity conservation and use worldwide by supporting individual genebanks and promoting collaboration among institutions that manage important collections.

We conducted external reviews of the genebanks at the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) in Ethiopia and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Mexico. The Crop Trust also undertook a costing study to determine the financial resources needed to support World Vegetable Center (WorldVeg) genebanks in Tanzania and Taiwan. 

In collaboration with WorldVeg, the Crop Trust launched Vegetables4Life. The initiative aims to rescue and conserve vegetable biodiversity and tap into its potential for nutritious diets, improved livelihoods and climate resilience. The launch took place at Crop Diversity Day 2025 in November in Lima, Peru, ahead of GB-11.

This year, the Crop Trust furthered its collaboration with the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF). Together, we developed a long-term strategy for the conservation and use of tropical food and agroforestry trees through conservation production orchards, a key component of robust ex situ conservation strategies.
We partnered with the International Plant Treaty Secretariat to revitalize the Article 15 coffee collection at the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) in Costa Rica. With funding from the German development agency GIZ through the Joint Funding Facility, 2,400 plants – representing 400 samples – were transplanted in CATIE’s new field site in 2025. Emergency funds enabled CATIE to move an additional 200 accessions. We also held a workshop on coffee  in Abidjan, supported by the Federal Government of Germany.