The main goal is to maintain plant genetic diversity and ensure the availability of seed sources in the future.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) is developing a seed bank program to preserve plant biodiversity in Indonesia.

In a statement released here on Friday, BRIN's Deputy For Research And Innovation Infrastructure, Iman Hidayat, said that a seed bank is a special facility to store and preserve the seeds of various plants.

"The main goal is to maintain plant genetic diversity and ensure the availability of seed sources in the future," Hidayat added.

From June 10–15, 2024, BRIN held a seed conservation skill workshop in the Scientific Conservation Area of the Eka Karya Botanical Garden in Bali.

The training was a collaborative program between BRIN, the Arcadia Fund – Royal Botanic Garden Kew, and the Garfield Weston Foundation.

Hidayat said that there are three important things that need to be paid attention to regarding seed bank construction in Indonesia.

First, the development of human resources to manage BRIN's national seed bank. Human resource development is being carried out through training involving a team of experts from the Millennium Seed Bank of the Royal Botanical Gardens.

"The training methods presented here are in the form of standardization to technical and managerial skills," Hidayat said.

Second, plant seeds in Indonesia have extraordinary potential as a source of food and health.

Hidayat stressed the need for anticipation and mitigation to save seeds by storing them in seed banks.

"Third, I hope that through this training, awareness will grow to protect the sustainability of seeds," he said.

BRIN's coordinator for seed bank scientific collection management, Ade Yusup Yuswandi, informed that facilities related to the seed bank are continuing to be improved.

The process of developing seed banks involves collection, processing, storage, viability testing, and data collection. (INE)


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Translator: Sugiharto P, Kenzu
Editor: Atman Ahdiat
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