A MILLION varieties of agricultural plants are threatened with extinction
because the gene banks in which they are stored are badly equipped and poorly
funded, says the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. The world needs to invest
up to $3 billion over the next decade to prevent an 鈥渁larming鈥� loss of
genetic diversity, warn FAO scientists.
The first comprehensive analysis of the world鈥檚 crop genetic resources is
being presented to scientists and ministers from more than a hundred countries
in Rome this week. A report scheduled to be launched by the FAO in the next few
days concludes that more than half the world鈥檚 1300 stores for rare strains of
cereals, vegetables and fruit are 鈥減erhaps incapable at present of performing
the basic conservation role of a gene bank鈥�.
Some gene banks 鈥渁re in a state of rapid deterioration鈥�, says the report,
while many have 鈥減oor storage conditions, lack of funds or facilities for
regeneration, poor management, or a combination of such factors鈥�. About 130
countries lack long-term storage facilities, including one of the world鈥檚
largest gene banks at the Vavilov Institute of General Genetics in Moscow.
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At the US National Seed Storage Laboratory in Colorado there are delays in
regenerating a fifth of the samples because of shortages of staff and resources.
Germany, India, Brazil, Korea and Ethiopia also report problems with
regeneration, as a result of inadequate funding. If seeds are not germinated and
fresh seed collected every ten years, they can deteriorate.
Many of the world鈥檚 poorer nations admit to serious problems with their
cooling and storage equipment, including Romania, Egypt, Iraq, Vietnam and a
number of African countries.
Cary Fowler, a senior scientist from the FAO, points out that any loss of
genetic diversity reduces future options for combating plant diseases or
improving crop yields. 鈥淲e should be alarmed at this,鈥� he says. 鈥淕enetic strains
are becoming extinct before our eyes.鈥�
An FAO Global Action Plan proposes that between $1 billion and
$3 billion should be invested over the next decade to upgrade gene banks
and enhance genetic conservation on farms. 鈥淎ction must be taken soon if the
material collected in past decades is to be saved,鈥� the plan says. It calls for
a major international programme 鈥渢o transform the current diverse, poorly
coordinated, often inefficient and frequently redundant efforts into a rational,
effective and sustainable system鈥�.