Lima, Peru
5 November 2026
Mr Kent Nnadozie at the Cryo Vault deposit event
The Secretariat of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture welcomed a significant milestone in international cooperation to safeguard crop diversity through cryopreservation. Its Secretary, Kent Nnadozie, joined partners at the International Potato Center (CIP) in Lima for an event marking the deposit of plant genetic resources from Brazil, Chile and Ecuador, all Contracting Parties to the Treaty, for long-term safety duplication through cryopreservation.
During the event, national institutions from Brazil, Chile and Ecuador deposited plant genetic resources in CIP's cryopreservation facility. The deposits demonstrated the growing role of complementary conservation strategies, particularly for crops that cannot be adequately conserved through conventional seed storage. Cryopreservation provides an important complement to seed genebanks, field collections, in vitro conservation and farmers' conservation, offering an additional safeguard for valuable crop diversity and strengthening the resilience of the global conservation system.
Kent Nnadozie joined Simon Heck, Director General of CIP, representatives of the depositing institutions and other partners in underscoring the value of cooperation in strengthening the conservation of plant genetic resources. The new deposits mark an important step towards establishing international safety duplication through cryopreservation as a more systematic and accessible conservation practice, while reinforcing national conservation efforts and the stewardship of the institutions responsible for the collections.
The initiative is consistent with the objectives and ongoing work of the Governing Body of the International Treaty, which emphasized the importance of strengthening conservation, international cooperation and the role of international collections in safeguarding plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. At its Eleventh Session, held in Lima in November 2025, the Governing Body adopted Resolution 05/2025 on the implementation of Articles 5 and 6 of the Treaty, concerning the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. It particularly encouraged cooperation among the Treaty Secretariat, CGIAR Centres, the Global Crop Diversity Trust and other relevant stakeholders in this regard.
In his remarks, Kent Nnadozie stressed the need to move beyond individual technical achievements towards a coordinated and sustainable international approach to cryopreservation.
“We must move from successful technical initiatives towards making cryopreservation a sustainable and accessible international conservation service, which will require validated crop-specific protocols, stronger capacities, transparent procedures, predictable financing, and sound documentation and traceability,” he said.
“The International Treaty provides an enabling framework for such cooperation. Through its provisions on conservation and international cooperation, and its established partnerships with CGIAR Centres and other partners, the Treaty can help connect national conservation efforts with international initiatives and facilitate the cooperation, trust and institutional arrangements needed to make international safety duplication effective and sustainable,” he added.
Discussions at the event also highlighted the need for clear institutional arrangements, mutual trust and sustained investment as international cryopreservation expands to additional crops, collections and countries. Participants also explored priorities for strengthening technical capacities, facilitating wider participation and developing a more coordinated approach to international safety duplication.
These efforts also support implementation of the Global Plan of Action for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, which identifies safety duplication as a key element of ex situ conservation and calls for improved conservation methods, including cryopreservation, as part of coordinated national, regional and international conservation efforts to safeguard crop diversity for present and future generations.
The initiative underscores the importance of building a comprehensive global conservation system in which national genebanks, international facilities and different conservation technologies complement one another. By extending international safety duplication to crops that cannot be adequately conserved through conventional seed storage, the CIP Cryo Vault contributes to safeguarding the genetic diversity essential for resilient agriculture and future food security.
Topics
Species
