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Title Safeguarding the future of U.S. agriculture: The need to conserve threatened collections of crop diversity worldwide
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File Information he report points to deteriorating conditions in the world’s crop genebanks as a major threat to U.S. agriculture, which is already losing at least $20 to $33 billion each year to plant pests and disease. A potential solution, highlighted in the report, lies in the newly created Global Crop Diversity Trust, an independent, international organization, established in 2004 to support crop diversity conservation over the long term. Initiated by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the Trust is building a $260 million endowment through donations from national governments, philanthropic foundations, and private corporations. The first priority of the Trust is to rescue collections in developing countries that are at risk today. The governments of Cape Verde, Colombia, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Jordan, Mali, Mauritius, Morocco, Peru, Samoa, Serbia and Montenegro, Sweden, Syria, Togo, and Tonga have so far signed on as supporters of the Trust. The government of Ethiopia, one of the poorest countries in the world, recently donated $50,000 to the Trust endowment. The Trust has raised about $56 million to date. The Trust is an element of the funding strategy of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, which became law on 29 June 2004.
Authors
McGuire Dr, Patrick E

Genetics, genetic resources conservation, conservation biology, conservation genetics
Qualset, Calvin O
Director Emeritus-Genetic Resources Conservation Program Professor Emeritus Research Professor
Agronomy, genetics, quantitative inheritance, plant breeding; plant genetic resources
Date Added Sep 23, 2008
Description The report points to deteriorating conditions in the world’s crop genebanks as a major threat to U.S. agriculture
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