CATIE Carries Out Its Largest Seed Shipment to the Global Seed Vault in the Arctic

• Shipment ensures food security for Costa Rica and the region in case of emergency.

CATIE (Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center) has completed its sixth and largest shipment of seeds (a total of 1,100 accessions) to the Global Seed Vault, located in Svalbard, between Norway and the North Pole. This vault is considered the world’s largest seed repository, playing a crucial role in food security.

The shipment included 190 accessions of chili peppers (Capsicum), 290 of tomatoes (Lycopersicum), and 620 of squash (Cucurbita). Most of these are heirloom germplasm collected from farms, markets, and roadsides in Central America. According to William Solano, a specialist in plant genetic resources at CATIE, “many of these accessions are unique and are not preserved in other collections worldwide.”

The selection of accessions for shipment was based on their availability and the length of time they have been conserved, as some may experience reduced germination over time, compromising their distribution to farmers in the region. By depositing them in the vault, CATIE ensures their security and availability for future generations, with the possibility of requesting their repatriation in case of loss or emergency.

Known as the "Doomsday Vault" or the "Noah's Ark of Plants," the Svalbard Global Seed Vault functions as a secure stronghold against potential natural disasters or challenges faced by gene banks that could threaten crop biodiversity conservation.

With this latest shipment, CATIE now has 2,634 seed samples stored in the Global Seed Vault, representing 42% of the total accessions preserved in the cold chamber of the Germplasm Bank in Turrialba, Costa Rica.

This initiative has been made possible through the Biodiversity for Opportunities, Livelihoods, and Development (BOLD) program, executed by CATIE, led by the Global Crop Diversity Trust, and funded by the Norwegian government. “Implementing the BOLD project at CATIE has been a valuable experience because it is the first time such a large number of accessions of three food-important crops for our region have been regenerated,” added Solano.

Deposits to the Global Seed Vault are regulated by an agreement that CATIE signed in 2010 with the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food. Under this agreement, CATIE retains ownership of the material it sends to the vault and can retrieve it when necessary.

Largest Quantity Ever Sent

This sixth shipment represents the highest number of accessions sent as a safety duplicate. Below is a breakdown of the last three shipments.

Source: CATIE

The Global Seed Vault was inaugurated in February 2008 and maintains a temperature of -18 degrees Celsius, ensuring the long-term conservation of genetic materials. According to its official website, the vault currently safeguards over 4.3 million seeds. croptrust.org