Climate change, increasingly frequent droughts and heatwaves, emerging pests and diseases, and the rapid loss of biodiversity are transforming the way we produce food. While much of the debate among agricultural public still focuses on yields and market prices, scientists warn that one of the most valuable resources for the future of farming remains largely invisible to the public: plant genebanks.

These collections safeguard tens of thousands of crop varieties, traditional landraces, and wild relatives that may contain the genetic traits needed to develop crops capable of withstanding tomorrow’s environmental challenges. Without this diversity, experts warn, breeding the resilient crops needed to feed a growing global population will become increasingly difficult.
To discuss these challenges, we spoke with Dr. Sarada Krishnan, Director of Science and Programs at the Crop Trust, one of the world’s leading organizations dedicated to the long-term conservation of crop diversity.

“Our mission is to conserve crop diversity and ensure it remains available to everyone – not only today, but for generations to come,” Krishnan says.

According to her, agriculture is no longer facing the challenge of simply producing more food. Climate change is fundamentally altering the conditions under which crops grow. At the same time, traditional varieties, local landraces, and the wild relatives of cultivated plants are disappearing – the very genetic resources that could provide the traits needed to adapt agriculture to an uncertain future.

Productivity and biodiversity go hand in hand

Today’s agriculture faces a double challenge. Climate change is making food production less predictable, while the genetic diversity needed to develop future crop varieties is steadily disappearing.

Although biodiversity is often discussed as a broad environmental issue, Krishnan emphasizes that its loss has immediate and practical consequences for agriculture.

“Genetic diversity is the raw material that plant breeders use to develop varieties resistant to diseases, pests, drought, floods, heat, and poor soils. If local varieties and crop wild relatives disappear, humanity may permanently lose genes that will be essential for future food production,” she explains.

Beyond crop breeding, biodiversity underpins many of the ecosystem services on which agriculture depends, including pollination, soil fertility, water regulation, and natural pest control. Protecting biodiversity therefore means preserving the options available to future generations of farmers.

Krishnan also challenges a common misconception—that higher productivity inevitably comes at the expense of crop diversity.

“Quite the opposite. Productivity should be viewed over the long term, through agriculture’s ability to adapt to changing climatic conditions. The objective is not to maximize yields in a single season, but to maintain stable production over many years and under diverse environmental conditions.”

For her, crop diversity is not an obstacle to productivity but one of its fundamental pillars.

Genomic technologies are powerful – but they cannot replace biodiversity

In recent years, genomics, DNA sequencing, and New Genomic Techniques (NGTs) have increasingly been presented as key solutions to the challenges facing modern agriculture. Krishnan agrees that these technologies will play an increasingly important role—but she stresses that their success ultimately depends on something far more fundamental: conserved genetic diversity.

“New technologies are becoming increasingly important for both the conservation of plant genetic resources and crop improvement,” she says.

Modern genebanks are no longer simply seed storage facilities. Advances in genomics, digital sequence information, sophisticated databases, imaging technologies, and cryopreservation now allow scientists to understand their collections in far greater detail than ever before.

“Genebanks are no longer just places where seeds are stored. They are becoming knowledge hubs that make crop diversity more visible, searchable, and useful for research. They are also one of the key pillars of global food security,” says the Crop Trust’s Director of Science and Programs.

The same technological revolution is transforming plant breeding. Genomic tools enable breeders to identify valuable traits much faster, including resistance to diseases and pests, tolerance to drought, heat and poor soils, as well as improved nutritional quality.

“New genomic techniques can accelerate the development of improved crop varieties, but they depend on access to diverse genetic material. Without conserved genetic diversity, even the most advanced technologies have nothing to work with.”

In other words, technology is not a substitute for biodiversity – it is a tool for making better use of it.

From Wild Wheat in Syria to Farmers’ Fields

Do plant genebanks really make a difference to food production, or are they simply scientific collections? Krishnan has a clear answer.

“Genebanks conserve the diversity that breeders, researchers, and farmers need to respond to emerging challenges. Their role goes far beyond collecting seeds. They document, regenerate, evaluate, and distribute plant material to ensure that valuable genetic traits are not lost.”

By safeguarding this diversity, genebanks provide the essential raw material needed to develop crops that are more resilient, productive, nutritious, and better adapted to changing environmental conditions.

One of the best examples is Jabal, a drought-tolerant durum wheat variety developed by breeders and genebank specialists at ICARDA in collaboration with local farmers, with support from the Crop Trust through the BOLD project.

What makes Jabal remarkable is its origin. The variety was developed by crossing cultivated durum wheat with a wild wheat relative collected in Syria. That wild genetic material carried genes responsible for drought tolerance.

“During severe drought years, Jabal continued to produce reliable yields while many commercial durum wheat varieties failed,” Krishnan explains. “It is a perfect example of how material conserved in genebanks can directly contribute to climate adaptation. What was preserved in a collection for decades ultimately ended up in farmers’ fields.”

The global community of agricultural journalists will gain an objective insight into the state and potential of our food production sector. Participants will have the opportunity to see firsthand parts of Croatia and some of our small and large producers across various sectors of primary production, which will enable them to form a comprehensive impression of our agriculture.

How researchers gain access to genetic resources

An important question is how scientists and plant breeders gain access to the genetic material stored in genebanks.

Krishnan explains that access is based on international cooperation, comprehensive documentation, and well-established legal frameworks. Genebanks maintain detailed information on every accession they conserve, allowing researchers to search databases and request plant material that best matches their breeding objectives.

Much of this international exchange takes place under the framework of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, which facilitates access to genetic resources while ensuring fair and equitable benefit-sharing.

To provide an additional level of security, seed collections from around the world are duplicated and deposited in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault on the Norwegian island of Spitsbergen. Built deep inside Arctic permafrost, the facility serves as the world’s ultimate backup collection for crop diversity.

The Vault is managed jointly by the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food, NordGen, and the Crop Trust, and opens three times a year to receive new deposits.

Croatia has already deposited backup copies of its native crop collections there on two occasions. The deposited seeds remain the property of the institutions that submitted them and can only be withdrawn if the original collections are damaged or destroyed. As of June 2026, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault contained 1,401,285 seed samples, making it the world’s largest repository of crop diversity.

National genebanks: the first line of defense for agriculture

While international collections often receive the most attention, Krishnan emphasizes that national genebanks are the first line of defense for a country’s agricultural heritage.

Unlike large international collections, national genebanks preserve the crop varieties, local landraces, and wild relatives that are closely linked to a country’s landscapes, climate, farming traditions, and food culture. These locally adapted genetic resources may hold the key traits needed to develop crops capable of thriving under future climate conditions.

“National genebanks conserve the diversity that is most closely connected to local farming systems, food cultures, landscapes, and environmental conditions. But their role goes beyond preserving seeds. They also generate and maintain the information that allows researchers, breeders, and farmers to identify and use the genetic resources they need,” Krishnan explains.

In other words, a genebank is not an archive of the past – it is a tool for the future.

According to Krishnan, genebanks represent an insurance policy for global food production, safeguarding crop varieties and wild relatives that may contain the genes needed to develop climate-resilient agriculture.

“Conserving plant genetic resources is one of the most important investments today’s generation can make for those that follow,” she says.

Croatia has a unique opportunity – if it uses its agricultural heritage

Speaking about Croatia, Krishnan believes the country possesses an exceptionally rich agricultural heritage that has yet to be fully utilized.

Its diverse climates, wealth of traditional varieties, and broad genetic base are assets that many European countries have already lost. However, she stresses that this diversity must be systematically documented, researched, and incorporated into modern breeding programs.

She argues that Croatia should continue investing in national plant genetic resource collections, improve documentation and data systems, and strengthen cooperation between researchers, breeders, and international networks such as the European Cooperative Programme for Plant Genetic Resources (ECPGR).

“Agricultural diversity can become a foundation for innovation and resilience,” she says, adding that traditional varieties should not be preserved merely as cultural heritage but actively used to develop new cultivars adapted to climate change and future farming needs.

Krishnan also stresses that conserving plant genetic resources is not solely the responsibility of scientists and genebanks.

Local varieties and crop wild relatives may carry genes for tolerance to drought, heat, diseases, and pests. Their conservation therefore requires close collaboration among farmers, plant breeders, researchers, policymakers, and local communities.

“Farmers are not only beneficiaries of crop diversity—they are its custodians.”

She encourages Croatian farmers to see the country’s national genebank as a practical partner rather than simply a scientific institution.

“The national genebank should be viewed as one of the key tools for adapting agriculture to climate change. Its collections contain varieties that may have disappeared from farmers’ fields but could once again become valuable because of their resilience.”

Krishnan concludes that safeguarding crop diversity also depends on cooperation among institutions, researchers, educators, and the media. Governments must continue investing in long-term conservation programmes and ensure that collections remain accessible, while scientists need to communicate their findings in language that is clear and understandable to the wider public.

Agricultural journalism has never been more important

Krishnan believes the media has a critical role to play in shaping public understanding of the challenges facing agriculture. At a time when information spreads faster than ever, high-quality journalism can help explain why crop diversity, climate change, and food security matter to everyone – not just farmers and scientists.

“People often make decisions about food, agriculture, and the environment based on what they read, hear, or watch in the media. That makes agricultural journalists a vital bridge between science, farming, and society.”

She argues that journalists have a responsibility that goes beyond simply reporting facts.

“The media has a unique responsibility to connect science with society. Equally important is telling the stories of the people behind agricultural innovation – farmers, plant breeders, researchers, and local communities. This helps the public understand that genetic resources are not an abstract concept, but the very foundation of the agriculture that feeds us.”

Accurate, evidence-based reporting, she adds, is also one of the strongest tools for combating misinformation.

“By providing balanced and scientifically sound reporting, agricultural journalists can counter misinformation, give a voice to farmers and researchers, and encourage informed public debate. At a time when climate change, emerging diseases, and the need for more sustainable food production are reshaping agriculture, credible agricultural journalism is more important than ever.”

Krishnan will be among the speakers at the World Congress of Agricultural Journalists, which will take place in Osijek, Croatia, next month.

Throughout the interview, one message remained constant: the future of agriculture depends on the diversity we preserve today.

Climate change, population growth, and increasing pressure on natural resources demand farming systems that are more resilient than ever before. That resilience cannot be achieved without conserving the genetic diversity that allows crops to adapt and evolve.

Modern technologies – from genomics to artificial intelligence – will undoubtedly transform agriculture. Yet, as Krishnan repeatedly emphasizes, they can only succeed if the underlying genetic resources still exist.

Plant genebanks are therefore far more than repositories of seeds. They are living libraries of biodiversity, reservoirs of genetic innovation, and one of humanity’s most valuable safeguards against future food insecurity.

As Krishnan concludes:

“Conserving plant genetic resources is one of the greatest investments we can make – not only for today’s farmers, but for future generations and the resilience of global food systems.”