The national gene bank serves to conserve and facilitate access to local plant varieties, landraces, heirloom varieties, crop wild relatives and other wild plant genetic diversity for use in agriculture, research and conservation activities.

The facility will store seeds, as well as plant tissues for in vitro storage and cryo-preservation and complement the existing infrastructure at the Plant Protection Directorate as the Competent Authority for Genetic Resources to produce and store seeds. The gene bank will have the role to generate and analyse genetic diversity for the germplasm stored within its chambers, therefore filling large gaps in the knowledge of national plant genetic heritage.

The availability of germplasm and a genetic database will contribute to the efforts being carried out worldwide that contribute to food security as well as to develop new varieties which are resilient to common problems such as drought, high soil salinity, changing climates, disease outbreaks, and nutritional efficiency, amongst others.

More information on this project can be viewed by watching this short video .