Opening of the Duplicate Center for Plant Genetic Resources of Ukraine

Today, Western Ukraine saw the grand opening of the Ukrainian Plant Genetic Resources Duplicate Center, an important scientific infrastructure facility designed to ensure the reliable preservation and reproduction of the national gene pool of agricultural crops.

Oksana Sergienko, Deputy Director for Scientific Work at the Institute of Vegetable and Melon Growing of the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences of Ukraine, took part in the event.

The opening of the Duplicate Center was the second stage of a joint EU-FAO project launched in 2022 in response to the destruction of the National Gene Bank in Kharkiv. The project was funded by the EU and implemented by the FAO in cooperation with the NAAS of Ukraine with technical support from the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources, Crop Trust, and NordGen. It also contributed to the adoption of the National Strategy for the Development of the Plant Genetic Resources System of Ukraine for 2024-2028 and the implementation of the international information platform GRIN-Global. This will strengthen data exchange, scientific cooperation, and Ukraine's integration into global biodiversity conservation initiatives.

The project's achievements—from the safe transport of the national seed collection to the creation of a sustainable storage system—demonstrate how international solidarity helps protect the world's agricultural diversity even in times of war. Every seed stored in the Duplicate Center is a building block for the future of food production, sustainability, and recovery in Ukraine and around the world.