New seed samples deposited in Svalbard Global Seed Vault
News story | Date: 26/02/2025 | Ministry of Agriculture and Food
13,000 seed samples from 21 genebanks are being deposited in the chambers of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault this week.
The seed samples include essential varieties of sorghum and pearl millet from Sudan’s crop genebank, a collection nearly destroyed during the country’s civil war, so-called “velvet beans” from Malawi that support both sustainable agriculture and traditional medicine, critical food crops from a Philippine genebank that’s been ravaged by typhoons and fires and a major collection of more than 3,000 varieties of rice, beans and maize from Brazil.
– The Seed Vault is about our world’s food security. It is fantastic to be here to receive new seeds to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, also from several new depositors and countries,” said Norwegian State Secretary Ms. Hanne-Berit Brekken. I am glad that Norway, through its support of this facility, helps to ensure that generations to come can make use of our plant heritage.
This week also marks the 66th deposit in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which has received seed samples from 123 genebanks in 85 countries around the world since its inauguration in February 2008.
The database that catalogs all gene banks, deposits and seed samples is called the Seed Portal and is maintained by NordGen.
- More information can be found on NordGen's website: The Seed Portal - NordGen
Following the deposit ceremony, the first ever Svalbard International Dialogue will bring together high-level government officials, crop experts and global thought leaders to discuss the challenge of safeguarding crop diversity amid increasing environmental pressures and escalating global conflicts.
The participation of genebanks from nations like the Philippines and Sudan underscores the Seed Vault’s role as a safeguard against the parallel crises of changing climates and conflict.
| Seed deposits February 2025 | Country | Accesions | Boxes | Crops |
| IITA | Nigeria | 1114 | 4 | 10 species, Maize (1304), Soybean (817), groundnut (64) + 7 others (+ two testboxes) |
| State Forest Service | Lithuania | 80 | 1 | 22 species, 35 Barley, 14 wheat, some herbs and tree species |
| Obafemi Awolowo university (new, BOLD) | Nigeria | 560 | 3 | 28 species, many legumes, Vigna, Sphenostylis, Psophocarpus, haseolus + other vegetables |
| Embrapa (BOLD) | Brazil | 3003 | 10 | Rice, beans and maize |
| APGRC | Sudan | 1884 | 3 | 15 species, most Sorghum and pearl millet |
| Malawi Plant Genetic Resources Centre, Chitedze Research Station (New, BOLD) | Malawi | 813 | 4 | 20 species, 263 Sorghu, 211 maize, 85 rice and other legumes and vegetables |
| Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (BOLD) | Malaysia | 518 | 2 | 8 species, 483 rice + egg plant and vigna beans |
| NRSSL | Thailand | 300 | 1 | Rice |
| NordGen | Nordic countries | 438 | 1 | 90 species, much barley, triticum, vegetables, cwr and herbs |
| International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) (new) | UA Emirates | 374 | 1 | 114 different species, + 2 test boxes |
| Agricultural Research Institute of Burundi (BOLD) | Burundi | 892 | 3 | 23 species, 603 phaseolus beans, legumes, sorghum, millets and vegetables |
| Scientific Research Center of Agriculture (new, BSF) | Georgia | 206 | 1 | 16 species, wheat, maize and beans |
| CATIE (BOLD) | Costa Rica | 1100 | 2 | 14 species, Capsicum, Curcurbita and Solanum |
| Institut National des Recherches Agricoles du Benin (BOLD) | Benin | 57 | 1 | Maize |
| National Plant Genetic Resources Laboratory (BOLD) | Philippines | 75 | 1 | Phaseolus lunatus, Solanum melongena, Sorghum bicolor and Vigna umbellata |
| Sveaskog | Sweden | 8 | 1 | Nordic tree species |
| The Norwegian Forest Seed Centre | Norway | 25 | 1 | Nordic tree species |
| AfricaRice | Cote d'Ivoire | 1159 | 2 | Rice, four species/subspecies of Oryza |
| ICRAF | Kenya | 278 | 1 | 42 species, mainly tree species |
| Totals | 12884 | 43 |
The Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food is the legal and administrative body of the Seed Vault and has the overall responsibility for its management, security and funding. The Ministry has assigned Statsbygg, the key adviser on construction and property to the Norwegian Government, to be responsible for the construction and maintenance of the Seed Vault. For more information see Ministry of Agriculture and Food - regjeringen.no
NordGen is the Nordic countries’ genebank and knowledge center for genetic resources. As the operational manager of the Seed Vault, NordGen is responsible for handling the seeds inside the Seed Vault; communicating with genebanks; and maintaining a publicly accessible online database with information on the seed samples stored in the Seed Vault (seedvault.nordgen.org). Read more about NordGen
The Crop Trust is an international organization working to conserve crop diversity and thus protect global food and nutrition security. At the core of Crop Trust is an endowment fund dedicated to providing guaranteed long-term financial support to key genebanks worldwide. The Crop Trust supports the Svalbard Global Seed Vault and coordinates large-scale projects worldwide to secure crop diversity and make it available for use, globally forever and for the benefit of everyone. The Crop Trust is recognized as an essential element of the funding strategy of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Learn more at www.croptrust.org