Cocoa pods, Venezuela. Photo: C.Lanaud ©CIRAD
Arabica coffee, Ethiopia. Photo: ©Jean-Pierre Labouisse
Yams in Benin. Photo: J-L Pham ©IRD
Rice harvest, Guinea. Photo: J-L Pham ©IRD
Maize corn. Photo: ©Brigitte Gouesnard

Seed conservation

This technological platform will rationalize and consolidate activities of existing biological resources centers for the conservation of tropical and Mediterranean seed crops as well as rare and endangered species of Mediterranean Botanical Conservatories. It will offer (1) facilities to conserve, manage and distribute orthodox-seed genetic resources for a large range of species, from wild species to orphan cultivated species, through well-tried technologies (threshing, cleaning, seed counting, seed treatment, balances,…) and automatic technologies for storage, identification systems, packaging and aliquoting, (2) a centralized and secure infrastructure for storage of orthodox-grain species in cold storage (+5°C/30% RH) and in sub-zero storage (-28°C/-80°C).