Saving the world’s plant species has been a concern ever since botanical gardens were

Abstract

Agricultur introduced. Concerted efforts to preserve and manage genetic resources have taken up steam since the seventies of the last century through the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and through various gene banks. Agricultural biodiversity is a special concern within this broader objective of conservation. Providing access to wild varieties of crops currently in use in farming has an added urgency to enable further development of crops to ensure food production and food security. However, preservation of species in gene banks and botanical gardens does