Ukraine to Transfer 1,000 Seed Samples to the World’s Seed Vault

This was reported by the press service of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

It is noted that Ukraine has submitted the instrument of ratification for accession to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and will become the 156th party to the agreement.

Ukraine’s National Gene Bank ranks among the world’s top ten in terms of volume and diversity, preserving more than 154,300 samples of 2,002 plant species, including nearly 57,000 samples of Ukrainian origin.

Thanks to this new status, Ukraine will gain:

• Access to the Multilateral System of exchange — a global gene pool containing more than 2 million samples of the world’s most important crops. More than 7 million samples have already been exchanged through this system.
• New opportunities for scientists and farmers — Ukrainian farmers, researchers, and breeders will be able to legally use global genetic resources to develop new varieties resistant to diseases and drought.
• Access to data — the Treaty’s Global Information System (GLIS) will provide a comprehensive database of plant genetic resources available worldwide.