Global Crop Diversity Trust (Crop Trust)

The Crop Trust was founded by the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as an independent organisation charged with helping the world develop a global system for ex situ conservation that makes sure the diversity of the most important crop diversity is safeguarded and made available for global food security. 

Donors/Partners:

The Crop Trust is funded by governments (63.3%), foundations (34.3%), corporations (1.5%) and other donors (0.9%). Presently, the Swiss tool-making company FELCO is the only donor for coffee.

Key activities:

The Crop Trust works closely with international, regional and national gene banks, to make sure the diversity held in their collections is safe and available. We do this by making sure they meet and maintain global standards of conservation, and by maximising the use of the limited resources they obtain.

For coffee, the Crop Trust worked with World Coffee Research (WCR) in developing the ‘Global Conservation Strategy for Coffee Genetic Resources’, which was published in 2017. This document comprehensively looks at the state of coffee diversity in the world and outlines what it will take moving forward to safeguard and make available the most unique diversity of coffee, for all actors across the world to use. Consequently, the Crop Trust is striving to (a) make sure the key gene banks that hold this diversity meet and eventually maintain global (FAO) standards in securing this diversity, and (b) ensure proper funding for the collections in perpetuity.

Signature projects/tools:

Coffee – Global Conservation Strategy for Coffee Genetic Resources (https://www.croptrust.org/saving-coffee/)

Priority Countries and corresponding areas of activities:

Costa Rica: Climate change – Consumer education & awareness – Technical assistance – Access to finance – Standards/certification

Ivory Coast: Climate change – Consumer education & awareness – Technical assistance – Access to finance – Standards/certification

Ethiopia: Climate change – Consumer education & awareness – Technical assistance – Access to finance – Standards/certification

Madagascar: Climate change – Consumer education & awareness – Technical assistance – Access to finance – Standards/certification