Throughout history, sweetpotato has adapted to a range of climates and cropping systems. Through survival of the fittest, and farmer selection, cultivated crop varieties developed resistance to pests and disease.

Genetic diversity, the rich array of tiny building blocks that make it possible to find potatoes below sea level behind a dike in the Netherlands or high on a windblown Himalayan ledge in Nepal, is another of today's endangered species—put at risk by modern agriculture and booming population growth.

Today, genetic diversity is under relentless attack. Areas rich in plant species are being destroyed by desertification, deforestation, erosion, competition for land for housing, highways, and recreation, and by farming itself. And uncertainty exists as to whether the needed increase in world food production can be met without these species.

Maintaining this diversity is vital to global food security. Food crop scientists rely on variation in the chromosomes of primitive and wild plants to produce better-adapted and higher-yielding varieties having resistance to pests and diseases.

Defining a new agenda
In October 1994, the CGIAR Centers signed an agreement placing its germplasm collections under the auspices of the FAO. CIP's sweetpotato genetic resources, now held in trust as a public good for future generations, are widely distributed for research purposes worldwide. [see materials transfer agreements and genetic resources]

Rising global concerns
Prior to the CGIAR-FAO pact, there were rising global concerns about the continuing erosion of biological diversity. The importance of reversing the alarming trend, which is undermining the world's biological capital, resulted in the United Nations’ Convention on Biological Diversity, approved at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. More than 150 countries have ratified the Convention — supporting its chief goal of conserving biodiversity, and the equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources. Decades-long disputes between gene-rich developing countries and gene-poor developed countries over sovereignty, access, ownership of genetic resources, and intellectual property rights continue to be items on the Convention’s agenda.

Meanwhile, CIP scientists continue in their urgent effort to safeguard sweetpotato, knowing these precious pools of biodiversity are fast disappearing. To increase the pace of the work, the Center is strengthening its use of information and training to upgrade national program capabilities. The goal is to create a network in which responsibilities for preservation, documentation, and distribution of genetic materials are broadly shared.

MTAs
Dry matter counts
Indonesia's Waga-Waga community genebank
Research activities of the Waga-Waga community
Breeding and conservation