Genebanks hold the foundations of our food supply, offering insurance against the growing pressures of the climate crisis and other threats to crops worldwide. These seed repositories mitigate the risk of a food crisis in the future by ensuring a healthy, stable and diverse variety of crops will be available when we need it most.

However, many of the world’s more than 1,700 genebanks are vulnerable to natural disasters, war, social unrest, infrastructure issues, or a simple lack of funds. To ensure these vital resources are safe and secure, organizations are looking to form long-term funding and genebank collaborations, which have seen success with the Crop Trust’s Long-term Partnership Agreements (LPAs), which offer funding to keep seedbanks running in perpetuity.

In this episode, hosted in cooperation with the Crop Trust, host Natasha Elkington speaks with experts Sarada Krishnan and Michael Abberton about seeds, grains, genebanks and how long-term funding and collaboration can help protect crop diversity and the food supply of the future.