African countries urged to strengthen gene banks to safeguard future food security

Different been gene varieties stored at the Horticultural Research Institute (HRI) in Thika. [Juliet Omelo, Standard]

Gene banks are emerging as a central pillar of Africa’s food security strategy, with climate change and land degradation threatening crops in fields and forests across the continent.

The renewed focus follows the release of the Third State of the World’s Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), which highlights gene banks as critical insurance against the permanent loss of crop diversity.