Best of 2024: Biodiverse Bites
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By Marta Millere Outreach and Engagement Lead
23 December 2024
This year was packed with action for crop diversity. Here’s a bite-sized roundup of stories, videos and podcasts created by the Crop Trust to raise awareness of crop diversity conservation and use. They inspired us – and hopefully, you! – throughout 2024. Dive in for a second helping of the highlights.
People in Focus
Ehsan Dulloo: Mauritian Champion of Biodiversity Who Set Standards for Genebanks
Dr. Ehsan Dulloo joined the ranks of the Crop Trust’s Seed Heroes for his contribution to the development of internationally agreed genebank standards, widely used manuals for seed handling, and biodiversity conservation strategies in Mauritius and beyond. Read more
Focus on Crops
Alfalfa: A Story of Versatility
When the soldiers of Athens routed Darius’ Persian army at Marathon in 490 BCE, Greece gained more than a notable victory. The invaders left behind green expanses of the fodder they had planted to feed their horses, camels, and other livestock. That was me, and my scientific name – Medicago sativa – reflects both that I came from Media – the region of Iran that was the nucleus of the Persian empire – and that people cultivated me deliberately. Read more
Thought Leadership
How Genebanks Act as Guardians Against Climate Uncertainty
Biodiversity loss, climate change, and food insecurity are daunting, interconnected challenges that can seem insurmountable. As record-breaking temperatures persist and climate change escalates, the myriad solutions proposed often appear overly complex and expensive. Yet there is a deceptively simple but powerful solution that addresses all these problems: seeds.
See for Yourself
Seeds for Resilience: Banking on Diversity for a Food-Secure Future
The National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB) in Ibadan, Nigeria, conserves the foundation of Nigeria’s national food security. The genebank houses more than 11,000 samples of diverse crops – including food security staples such as sorghum and cowpea – crop collections whose use has been boosted lately under the Crop Trust’s Seeds for Resilience Project. Watch now
Data Shows Details
Lentils: The Tiny Giants of Nutrition and Food Security
Pulses, the dried edible seeds of plants in the legume family, have been a staple in diets around the world for millennia. To celebrate the 2024 World Pulses Day, our focus turned to one of the most versatile members of the group, the lentil. Read more
Listen and Learn
Barley: Beyond Bread and Beer
In this episode of the Crop Chronicles podcast, we journeyed to Morocco to explore the fascinating story of barley – a resilient crop that has sustained civilizations for millennia. Host Conrad introduced us to scientists Anna Backhaus and Miguel Sanchez Garcia from ICARDA, who have been developing climate-resistant barley varieties in the face of growing environmental challenges.
See the Process
Pre-Breeding Explained: A Project by Minerva University Students
The Crop Trust partnered with Minerva University through its Civic Projects initiative, which brought together the creative energies of undergraduate students with the expertise of scientists to enhance global crop diversity. Over three months, students Ariadna Barbier Perez and Salome Gvirjishvili collaborated with Crop Trust experts to craft an infographic titled "Turning Ancient Grains Into Tomorrow's Harvests." View infographic
Pictures plus 1,000 Words
Breaking the Stigma of Grasspea in South Asia
I jumped off the horse cart and landed on the sandy beach of Char Bongram, an island in the Brahmaputra River in Bangladesh, dotted with tough-looking, nondescript plants somehow surviving where no others could. Read more
Taste the Potential
The One That Makes the Daughter-In-Law Cry and Other Potato Recipes From the Women of the Potato Park
Is there a food that’s more emblematic of Peru than the potato? Long, round, bumpy, yellow, purple, red. Every imaginable shape and color is on the menu. And the women there know how to prepare them.
Diversity Explained
Risky Business: Safeguarding Crop Diversity in Genebanks
Ensuring food security and the resilience of agriculture against environmental challenges relies on the preservation and use of crop diversity. Genebanks are the ultimate guardians of this diversity. However, they face a myriad of risks that could compromise their invaluable contents. Read more
Relive the Moment
Crop Trust at the World Food Prize Borlaug Dialogue
The Borlaug Dialogue brings together decision-makers, farmers, experts, and young people to discuss the challenge of securing the global food supply. These discussions are capped by a formal ceremony recognizing the recipient or recipients of the World Food Prize, which is awarded for achievements that advance human development by improving the quality, quantity, or availability of food. This year, the World Food Prize is particularly meaningful for the Crop Trust. Read more