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Rescuing banana germplasm |
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The Global Crop Diversity Trust has made an emergency grant to the Institute of Plant Breeding – National Plant Genetic Resources Laboratory (IPB-NPGRL) to repair damage to its field collections caused by the typhoon ‘Milenyo’ that hit the Philippines in September 2006.
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Damage caused by the typhoon ‘Milenyo’ that hit the Philippines in September 2006.
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The typhoon destroyed the upper parts of the banana plants (though for the most part left the corms in the grounds to re-grow), and swept away other crops in the genebank's field collections, in addition to damaging the physical facilities.
The grant supports activities to rehabilitate and secure germplasm and covers funding and logistical support to repair damage and restore operations. The action was prompted by the fact that the collection of banana, as well as those of sweet potato, taro, Vigna and pigeon pea held at IPB-NPGRL, are considered of global significance.
With the number of weather-related disasters poised to increase, according to climatologists, the Trust is calling for a coordinated and cooperative system for conserving crop diversity. Moreover, the fact that the genebank contained unique specimens underlines the need to make ‘safety duplicates’ of such collections to ensure that the benefits derived from their genetic diversity are not lost forever when disaster strikes.
The Trust is an endowment fund managed by the FAO and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research to support the long-term conservation of vital food crops.
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