The war threatens the loss of thousands of genetic plant strains (social media)

The war that has been going on in Sudan since last April, the battles of which recently spread to Wad Madani, the capital of Gezira State (central Sudan to the south of Khartoum), threatens the loss of thousands of diverse plant genetic strains for food and agriculture following the targeting of the Genetic Resources Bank (Gene Bank), which according to Experts on the richness of agricultural biodiversity in Sudan.

An existential threat

The repercussions of the war that has spread over its area portend fears and an existential threat to the treasures of plant genetic resources in the gene bank.

The former director of the Center for Conservation and Research of Agricultural Plant Genetic Resources, Al-Taher Ibrahim Muhammad, said that the gene bank, which was established in 1982, is considered one of the research centers operating within the system of the Agricultural Research Authority in Sudan, and through it, seed samples of more than 15 thousand accessions are preserved and maintained, collected from various regions. Sudan during the past 40 years, and more than that for some incomes.

In his speech - to Al Jazeera Net - Al-Taher indicated that the income represents many local, traditional and ancient farmers’ varieties, as well as wild relatives of many agricultural crops in Sudan such as corn (sorghum), millet, sesame, peanuts, cowpeas, Egyptian beans, watermelon seeds, honey squash, okra, tomatoes and peppers. Hot and hibiscus.

Al-Tahir continued, “They all represent plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, a legacy accumulated over centuries and generations, and basic materials for scientific research and for breeding and genetic improvement programs inside or outside Sudan, for the sake of sustainability and development of agriculture and achieving food, nutritional and environmental security.”

The gene bank is one of the research centers operating within the Agricultural Research Authority system in Sudan. (Social Media)

The extent of the damage

At a time when researchers launched calls to save genetic resources in the gene bank, Al Jazeera Net learned that the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry submitted a request to the Sudanese government regarding providing protection for the bank, attaching its importance.

The director of the Biotechnology and Biosafety Research Center - the Agricultural Research Authority - Talal Sayed Abdel Halim acknowledged the difficulty of quantifying the extent of the damage to the Genetic Resources Bank due to the lack of field visits.

Talal said in his speech - to Al Jazeera Net - the facts of the events indicate that refrigerators were looted, “refrigerated stores for seeds,” and a number of employees of the authority began arranging the seeds in a room after they were found scattered.

In the same context, Al-Taher Ibrahim said - to Al Jazeera Net - according to audio testimonies received from the site, the bank was attacked, and much of its equipment was looted, most notably the coolers in which seed samples were stored for the long term, and the envelopes of seed samples were scattered on the floors of the rooms and outside, which It exposes it to deterioration and damage due to the lack of optimal environmental conditions for its maintenance.

The bank preserves seed samples of more than 15,000 accessions, collected from various regions of Sudan over the course of 40 years (social media)

Sustainability of environmental systems

According to experts, the gene bank contains the crop varieties needed to develop resilience to climate change and pests.

Al-Taher Ibrahim said that genetic resources are considered the main building blocks and basic raw materials for all scientific research and genetic improvement activities, which aim to improve the productivity and quality of various agricultural crops.

He added that preserving them is important for the sustainability of various agricultural ecosystems, and restoring them whenever they are disturbed, and its importance is represented in achieving food and nutritional security, environmental security, and providing shelter, medicine, clothing, and energy for humans.

Future risks

In light of the importance of the gene bank, Talal Sayed says that the world faces future risks from climate change.

He added, "If these genetic resources are lost and left outside the system, this will have a real impact on food security."

On the other hand, the agricultural engineer at the Food Security Department, Ammar Hassan Bashir, said that the gene bank is a tremendous scientific wealth that follows the development of plant breeds, preserves the origins and strains of plants with a global design for each plant, and tracks the genetic mutations of different plants.

Speaking to Al Jazeera Net, Ammar believes that targeting the gene bank is part of a plan to destroy the scientific infrastructure in Sudan.

Ammar played down the potential impact of the threat facing the gene bank on Sudan's food system in the near term.

Pointing out that the current food system will not be affected, in that it is a scientific research bank specialized in plants, and preserves the progression of their breeds, and a threat to the availability of food resulting from these plants may occur, at its minimum and basic rules, in the long term.

3,200 copies were transferred through initiatives from international organizations and deposited in the Svalbard Global Vault (social media)

Urgent plan

Regarding the possibility of saving plant genetic resources in the gene bank, Al-Taher Ibrahim believes that an urgent plan must be implemented to save the bank’s contents of genetic resources and rehabilitate its financial capabilities by collecting and transporting samples temporarily to a safer place inside Sudan.

Ibrahim added, "The place must be prepared with the necessary requirements of refrigerators, devices and equipment, while ensuring the continuity of the electrical supply to it, and work on taking and preparing samples of seeds from various incomes, for the purpose of shipping them and sending them to the global seed vault in Svalbard in Norway for long-term preservation for insurance purposes."

For his part, Director of the Biotechnology and Safety Research Center, Talal Sayed, said that the important and urgent step is to transfer the seeds to safe areas and send them to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, which was established by the government of Norway, and was designed to preserve seeds in a safe and controlled environment.

Talal revealed that 3,200 copies were transferred, through the initiatives of international organizations, and were deposited in the global vault of Svalbard before the battles moved to Wad Madani, calling for support to be provided to transfer the remaining seeds.

Source: Al Jazeera