Thousands of Seeds Deposited in Svalbard as Global Cooperation Safeguards Food Security

International Cooperation Secures More Seeds for the Future of Food at Svalbard

Thousands of Seeds Deposited in Svalbard as Global Cooperation Safeguards Food Security

On the last seed deposit of 2026, genebanks from around the world deposited thousands of seed samples in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, demonstrating how international cooperation helps protect the future of food.

Ukraine’s national genebank and six international genebanks of the CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) were among 21 institutions securing crop diversity – seeds that farmers and scientists need to respond to climate change and strengthen food security.

The deposit comes ahead of the ceremony for the 2026 Princess of Asturias Award for International Cooperation at the end of October. Awarded to the Seed Vault for its contribution to conserving crop diversity and advancing cooperation around food security, the honor recognizes the international trust behind this shared effort. 

Highlights from the October 2026 deposit include:

• Six CGIAR genebanks contributed a total of 8,917 samples, with Mexico-based CIMMYT making the largest deposit of 3,370 samples of common, durum and emmer wheats, triticale and maize.
• Ukraine’s National Academy of Agrarian Sciences deposited 773 seed samples of buckwheat and other crops, prepared and shipped despite the challenges of war.
• One new depositor joined from Italy – The Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA) deposited historic wheat and rice varieties.

The 13 October of 2026 deposit added to the more than 1.4 million seed samples already safeguarded inside the Arctic mountain. Each sample is a duplicate of a sample in a genebank collection, helping ensure that valuable crop diversity can be recovered if seeds are lost or become inaccessible.

Behind the effort to ship seeds to Svalbard are genebank teams protecting crops that feed communities around the world. 

Ukraine Protects Its Agricultural Heritage

Ukraine’s genebank at the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences sent 773 samples, securing backups of valuable crop diversity as conflict continues to put its collections and infrastructure at risk.

“The main challenge was organizing the whole process,” said Viktor K. Riabchoun, Head of the National Plant Genebank of Ukraine. “We had to prepare the seeds in close proximity to military hostilities, check and complete the necessary documents, and arrange the packaging and transportation.”

The team sent some of the most valuable samples from Ukraine’s crop collections, including buckwheat. Used in porridge and soups, it has a special place in Ukraine’s food and farming traditions. It also serves as an ‘insurance’ crop with a short growing season that allows farmers to sow it when winter crops fail. 

“Safety duplication ensures that valuable genetic resources can be recovered if the original collection is damaged or lost,” Riabchoun said. “For Ukraine, this is particularly important because the war has created additional risks for our genebank infrastructure and collections.”

Six CGIAR Genebanks Strengthen the Global Safety Net

Six CGIAR genebanks contributed nearly 9,000 seed samples to the October 2026 deposit, reinforcing the global effort to safeguard crop diversity. Among the largest contributions were 3,370 samples from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), 2,039 from the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), 1,890 from the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), and 1,027 from the International Potato Center (CIP). The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT also deposited seeds.

Together, CGIAR genebanks conserve some of the world’s most important collections of crop diversity, making them available for research and breeding that help farmers adapt to climate change, pests and diseases. Backing up these collections in Svalbard helps ensure that these genetic resources remain available for future generations.

“Safety duplication in Svalbard is an essential risk-management measure that helps safeguard agricultural biodiversity for future generations and ensures the continued availability of these valuable genetic resources,” said Dr Rama Jawad, Research Associate at ICARDA.

ICARDA knows first-hand why such backups matter. After conflict disrupted access to its collections, the organization became the first depositor to withdraw seeds from the Seed Vault, using them to rebuild its genebank before returning duplicate samples to Svalbard for safekeeping.

Several depositors marked important milestones this year. CIP deposited wild relatives of potato and sweetpotato, as well as maca and ahipa, increasing the share of its seed collection backed up in Svalbard to 91 percent. IRRI’s shipment included 410 first-time deposits containing rice diversity from Madagascar, Costa Rica and Nepal, bringing coverage of its fully curated collection to 99.59 percent.

The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT also moved closer to fully backing up its collection. Its work has faced significant challenges in recent years, including the loss of access to field stations needed to regenerate bean seeds.

Local Heritage Joins a Global Effort

Italy’s CREA made its first deposit of [272] samples, including traditional and historic wheat and rice varieties. Among them was Mentana, developed by Italian wheat breeder Nazareno Strampelli in the early twentieth century. Mentana contributed genetic material to the development of wheat varieties grown around the world.

“Knowing that some of Italy’s historic wheat and rice varieties are now securely backed up for the future is deeply rewarding,” said Patrizia Vaccino, Director of Research at CREA.

Other notable depositors included the Southern African Development Community’s genebank, NordGen, the World Vegetable Center, and institutions in Peru, Uruguay, Lithuania, Thailand, Latvia, the United Kingdom, Portugal and New Zealand.

From national collections to international research centers, the October deposits show how institutions are working together to protect the diversity that food production depends on. The seeds remain the property of each depositor, backed up through a partnership built on trust.

Seed deposits  October 2026	Country	Seed samples	Boxes	Crops
International Genebanks
International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)	Colombia	225	1	58 species of legumes and grasses
International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI)	Ethiopia	366	1	113 species, 49 cowpea, 35 lablab, 23 purple bush-bean, etc
International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA)	Lebanon	2,039	8	177 species, 247 fava beans, 103 barbed goat grass, 98 little medick, 43 peas, etc
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)	Mexico	3,370	7	2,328 common wheat, 444 durum wheat, 141 wild emmer wheat, 160 Triticale, 148 maize, etc
International Potato Center (CIP)	Peru	1,027	1	98 species, 154 threefork morning glory (relative of sweet potato), 116 bigleaf morning glory, 67 wayside pepperwort, etc
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)	Philippines	1,890	6	15 different rice species
Regional Generanks
Nordic Genetic Resource Center (NordGen)	Nordic countries	303	1	62 species, 89 barley, 27 bluegrass, 21 white clover, etc
SADC Plant Genetic Resource Centre (SPGRC)	SADC	300	2	29 species, 124 sorghum, 48 pearl millet, 15 maize, amaranthus, etc
National & Other Genebanks
Council for Agricultural Research and Economics (CREA-CI)	Italy (new)	271	1	2 species, 197 wheat and 74 rice
Institute of Biosciences and BioResources	Italy	161	1	2 species, emmer wheat and wild emmer wheat
LMVI ‘Silava’, Genetic Resource Centre	Latvia	162	1	4 species, 77 wheat, 61 oat, 20 barley 4 flax
State Forest Service (VMT)	Lithuania	41	1	5 species, 30 barley, etc
Margot Forde Germplasm Centre	New Zealand	319	1	28 species, 60 white clover, 43 perennial ryegrass, 30 common bent, etc
Instituto Nacional de Innovación Agraria (INIA)	Peru	71	1	5 species, 44 amaranth, 20 quinoa, etc
Plant Breeding and Acclimatization Institute (IHAR) – National Research Institute	Poland	1,121	3	156 species, 185 cultivated tobacco and numerous other tobacco species, 82 fava beans and numerous other bean species 66 timothy, peas, etc
Instituto Nacional de Investigação Agrária e Veterinária (INIAV)	Portugal	334	3	3 species, 303 common beans, 18 cowpea and 13 maize
World Vegetable Centre (Tanzania department)	Taiwan	1,668	2	Over 400 seed samples of different types of okra, 388 jute mallow samples, almost 300 different amaranth seed samples, over 100 samples of pigeon pea
National Rice Seed Storage Laboratory for Genetic Resources (NRSSL)	Thailand	300	1	300 rice seed samples
National Center for Plant Genetic Resources of Ukraine	Ukraine	773	1	15 species, 200 triticosecale, 200 common millet, 162 barley, 100 buckwheat, etc
John Innes Centre	United Kingdom	1,215	3	5 species, with 1,191 of wheat seed samples
Instituto Nacional de Investigación Agropecuaria	Uruguay	720	1	2 species, 718 wheat samples
TOTALS		16,676	47

Partner Perspectives

The October 2026 seed deposit highlights a shared international commitment to safeguarding crop diversity and strengthening food security. Representatives of the Seed Vault’s partners and the global plant genetic resources community reflected on the significance of this latest deposit.

“When Norway established the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, the vision was to create a secure safeguard for the world’s crop diversity and a shared resource for humanity. Today’s deposit demonstrates that this vision is more relevant than ever. Countries and institutions continue to come together to protect the genetic resources that future generations will depend on for food security and resilience. We are proud to partner with the Crop Trust and NordGen in this unique global effort,” said Nils Kristen Sandtrøen, Norway’s Minister of Agriculture and Food.

“We are pleased to see such a strong participation in this seed deposit and we are well aware of the difficult situation facing the Ukrainian genebank. Their contribution under these circumstances is an extraordinary achievement. It is also a powerful reminder of why the Svalbard Global Seed Vault exists: to protect the world’s irreplaceable genebank collections against all threats and safeguard them for future generations,” said Lene Krøl Andersen, Executive Director of NordGen.

“Our food connects us across borders, and so does the responsibility to protect it,” said Stefan Schmitz, Executive Director of the Crop Trust. “This deposit shows cooperation in action, through the commitment of genebank teams around the world. In the face of conflict, climate change and hunger, they are protecting something we all depend on: the diversity needed to grow food for generations to come.”

“Every meal depends on crop diversity developed and conserved over generations,” said Kent Nnadozie, Secretary of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. “The International Treaty and the Svalbard Global Seed Vault are vital parts of the global system for safeguarding one of humanity’s most important resources: the diversity that underpins our food systems. By working together, countries and institutions help ensure that farmers and plant breeders have the diversity they need to adapt to climate change, respond to future challenges and keep food on our plates for generations to come.”

“This deposit reflects our commitment to ensuring that the agricultural diversity entrusted to us is never lost. Safeguarding these seeds in Svalbard preserves options for farming and science to adapt to climate change, sustain rural livelihoods, and help feed a growing world,” said Peter Wenzl, Leader of the Genetic Resources Program at Future Seeds, the genebank of the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT.