Iraq inaugurated its rehabilitated National Plant Genetic Resources Bank in Abu Ghraib on 15 September, FAO said in a release published on 1 October. The work forms part of an EU-funded project supporting resilient agrifood systems in southern Iraq.
The centre, established in 1977, has improved seed-storage and documentation facilities and a solar-energy system. FAO reports capacity for 30,000 seed samples in medium-term storage and 20,000 in long-term storage; those figures describe capacity rather than the number of samples currently held.
Preserving plant diversity gives researchers material for crop breeding, including work on varieties suited to drought and other climatic stresses.