Genebank managers should be knowledgeable about the history of genebank management including past courses, current courses, and existing training resources. International instruments emphasize the importance of building human capacity in areas like genetic resources policy, taxonomy, seed physiology, incentives for crop diversity, and linking crop diversity to climate change. Effective genebank management also requires knowledge of neglected areas like financial management, strategic partnerships, traditional knowledge, sample tracking, and disease testing. The future of genebank manager training should involve modular, flexible courses tailored for different audiences that focus on quality management and include mentorship opportunities.

1. What should genebank managers be
knowledgeable about?
(or, how can they know what they don’t know, and do something about it)
Some international perspectives

2. • What’s been done in the past?
• What’s out there now?
• What do the international instruments say?
• What’s in the literature?
• The wisdom of the crowd
• Some final general suggestions
Contents

3. “I would like to be remembered for establishing a functioning,
well-organized and documented genebank. But I think the
people who carry on after me will be the legacy that I leave
behind.”
Jean Hanson, ILRI
https://www.genebanks.org/news-activities/news/jean-hanson/

4. 1. The pioneers: U Birmingham course
• https://mikejackson1948.wordpress.com/2012/03/24/genetic-resources-the-
impact-of-the-university-of-birmingham/
• SADC connection: SPGRC, UNZA
• U London distance learning course
2. The IPGRI contribution
• Regionalization (Africa, Asia, Latin America hubs)
• Generalization (curriculum, materials)
3. The last (MSc) course standing?
• UPLB
History
4

5. UPLB, The Philippines
http://uplbgraduateschool.org/academic-programs/plant-genetic-resources-conservation-and-management-pgrcm/
UPM, Spain
https://masteroficialrecursosfitogeneticos.wordpress.com/
U. Saskatchewan, Canada
http://ocw.usask.ca/AB/PLSC/408/#
UNALM, Mexico
http://www.leisa-al.org/web/index.php/lasnoticias/biodiversidad/3166-curso-internacional-domesticacion-manejo-y-conservacion-in-situ-de-
recursos-geneticos
CGN, The Netherlands
https://www.wur.nl/nl/show/CDIcourse_contemporary_approaches_2018.htm
Existing courses (selected)
5

6. Bioversity
https://www.bioversityinternational.org/e-library/publications/training-materials/
Genebank Platform (ex CGKB)
https://www.genebanks.org/resources/
Millennium Seed Bank, Kew
http://brahmsonline.kew.org/msbp/Training/Training
FAO
http://www.fao.org/elearning/#/elc/en/course/PB
International Treaty
https://e-learning.informea.org/course/view.php?id=13
Int. Society for Biological & Environmental Repositories
http://www.isber.org/?page=BiobankEduOpp
Existing training resources (selected)
6

7. • 18 Priority Areas, of which one is…
• 17. “Building and strengthening
human capacity”
International instruments: 2nd SoW & GPA
http://www.fao.org/docrep/015/i2624e/i2624e00.htm

8. Bottlenecks in the PGRFA use system
Kell, S., Marino, M. & Maxted, N. Euphytica (2017) 213: 170. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10681-017-1935-z
1. Policy
2. Genotyping
3. Markets for landraces
4. Participatory breeding
5. Conservation planning
6. Data management
7. PPP in plant breeding
8. Conservation techniques

9. IT revolution: challenges & opportunities
Plant genetic resources for food and
agriculture: opportunities and
challenges emerging from the science
and information technology revolution.
New Phytologist (2018) 217:1407–1419
doi:10.1111/nph.14993

10. • Debouck (CIAT): Dealing with the media
 Including social media 
• Ellis (CIP): Navigating policy environment
 Only getting more complex
• Sackville Hamilton (IRRI): How to get out of “genebank database hell”
 GRIN-Global
 DOIs
 Metadata for char/eval
Neglected areas: retiring CG genebank managers

11. • Genetic resources policy
• Taxonomy
• Extinction: genes, varieties, knowledge,
wisdom
• Seed physiology – including seed
development, aging, vigour
 Knowledge of and disseminating information
on strategies for germinating older seed
 Conservation of recalcitrant species
• Incentives: commercialization of adaptive local
varieties
• Linking crop diversity management and
climate change
Other neglected areas: crowdsourcing
https://agro.biodiver.se/2018/03/crowdsourcing-genebank-training-needs/#comments
• Financial management
 The economics of genetically efficient
genetic resource curation
• Strategic partnerships
• Traditional knowledge
• A good control of what is in their collection
and the status of each accession
 Sample and lot tracking
 Maintaining genetic integrity
 Seed banks vs. gene banks: What’s the unit
of conservation and what are the biologically
and economically justifiable thresholds for
keeping genetically similar accessions?
• Disease testing and seed treatments for
seed import and distribution
• Valuation of PGR in genebanks

12. • Counteract trend towards specialization
• Don’t stop at conservation (use, impact etc)
• Plan for different audiences, levels, length of course
Modularity
Flexibility
Use cases
• Build around quality management
GOAL
• Factor in mentorship
• Remember other languages
Some final thoughts

13. THANK YOU
WWW.CROPTRUST.ORG