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News from 2017-10-25 / KfW Development Bank

Preserving the genetic diversity of crops

KfW Development Bank supports fund to operate seed banks

Seeds plays a key role.
The genetic diversity of seeds plays a key role in preserving biodiversity.

KfW Development Bank supports global efforts to preserve the genetic diversity of crops. Dr Norbert Kloppenburg, member of the Executive Board of KfW Group, has now signed a contract for a promotional loan of EUR 50 million for the Global Crop Diversity Trust. The fund's mission is to provide long-term support for the preservation of the most important international seed collections.

Seed banks conserve the valuable genetic material of different crops. The genetic diversity of plants serves as the basis for cultivating adapted varieties and protecting global biodiversity. The Crop Diversity Endowment Fund finances the eleven seed banks of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) – a global partnership of international agricultural research institutes – as well as other global collections of particularly important crops.

Crop Trust has also been working with its Norwegian partners since 2008 to create the world's largest collection of crops in the Global Seed Vault in Svalbard, Norway. This vault stores duplicates of seed samples from international and national crop collections beneath the permafrost ground and thus serves as an insurance policy for the preservation of genetic material.

The Crop Diversity Endowment Fund currently has a market value of USD 207 million. Governments, private companies, foundations and organisations have all contributed. Germany has also pledged to give Crop Trust grants totaling EUR 37.5 million – through the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) and the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL).