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Originally published by The Standardtop
February 14, 2026
9h ago
African countries urged to strengthen gene banks to safeguard future food security
African countries are being urged to strengthen gene banks to safeguard future food security amid climate change, land degradation, biodiversity loss and sustainable agriculture challenges...
✨ Key Highlights
African countries are being urged to strengthen their gene banks as a critical strategy to safeguard future food security amidst growing threats from climate change and land degradation. This renewed focus follows a report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), which highlights the urgent need to conserve crop diversity.
- Africa currently holds approximately 220,000 seed samples from nearly 4,000 plant species in 56 gene banks across the continent, but only about 10% are safely duplicated.
- Deputy Director of the Plant Production and Protection Division at FAO, Chikelu Mba, emphasized that plant genetic resources are "the foundation of sustainable agri-food systems."
- In Kenya, the Genetic Resources Research Institute (GeRRI) maintains over 50,000 accessions belonging to 1,800 crop species, with 23,000 accessions already characterized.
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