Empowering Seed Banks to Combat the Climate, Biodiversity and Food Crises
12 November 2023
We must urgently transform our agrifood systems if we are to resolve the linked, overlapping crises that humanity faces. This transformation depends on many of us doing many things differently, but one thing is clear: it cannot happen without securing and using the diversity of hundreds of food plants, from our staple grasses to trees of all kinds. Crop diversity, at species and genetic levels, enhances productivity, resilience, sustainability, equity, and health in agrifood systems. And seed banks, which safeguard our seeds, need sustainable funding to drive this transformation.
On 14 November, the Crop Trust and the International Plant Treaty will host the first ever Global Crop Diversity Summit under the theme “Empowering Seed Banks to Combat the Climate, Biodiversity and Food Crises" in Berlin.
With a multifaceted program and exciting speaker line up, the summit will address the urgent need for more productive, sustainable, resilient and healthy agrifood systems in the face of climate crisis, biodiversity loss, food insecurity, malnutrition and conflict. The speakers include chefs, policymakers, genebank managers, artists and many more who have and continue shaping the crop diversity conservation movement and community.
Panel discussions will focus on:
- Interlinkages between people and planet, highlighting the rationale for a transformation towards more productive, sustainable, resilient, and healthy agrifood systems
- The role of crop diversity in fostering a nutritious and resilient food future
- How seed banks contribute to securing crop diversity, and
- Concrete measures to support the work of seed banks and enhance their worldwide impact.
The Global Crop Diversity Summit will be live streamed on the Crop Trust's YouTube channel and the official event hashtag is #SeedsToSolutions.
Categories: For The Press, For Partners, Sustainable Agriculture