The Philippines has deposited 4,417 rice seed samples at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway, the first time in four decades that the country has stored duplicates of its rice varieties outside the national gene bank.
The shipment was prepared by the Department of Agriculture’s Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), which has been collecting and documenting rice genetic resources since the 1980s.
PhilRice said it plans to send another batch of accessions next year to strengthen the country’s long-term conservation efforts.
Located on Spitsbergen Island in the Arctic Circle, the Svalbard Global Seed Vault serves as a global backup facility for crop seeds in case of natural disasters, conflict, climate threats or other large-scale disruptions.
Opened in 2008, the vault receives new deposits several times a year from countries and seed banks worldwide.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the deposit ensures protection of the country’s rice diversity in the event of calamities affecting local collections.
The samples include traditional heirloom varieties from the Cordillera region, commercial varieties such as Dinorado and Milagrosa, and modern hybrids bred for climate resilience.
PhilRice Executive Director John de Leon said the external storage provides “insurance” against the irreversible loss of rice genetic material stored in the Philippines.
The Svalbard deposit forms part of ongoing efforts to preserve crop biodiversity and ensure future access to planting material for research, breeding and food security programs.
