ABOUT 4,417 samples of Philippine rice seed were added to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway, a secure Arctic facility that will be tapped should the world need to start agriculture from scratch in the event of a global calamity, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said in a statement.
Many Philippine samples added in October were collected by the Philippine Rice Research Institute since the 1980s, with a further batch expected to be added next year to preserve global rice biodiversity, the DA said.
The so-called “Doomsday Vault” on Spitsbergen Island near Longyearbyen is intended to protect the genetic blueprints of the world’s crops from climate change, war, natural disasters, or the next pandemic.
The Svalbard samples mark the first case of Philippine rice samples being stored overseas, ensuring that the country’s genetic heritage can be recreated should calamities threaten Philippine rice diversity.
The samples include heirloom grains tended by Cordillera farmers to varieties like Dinorado and Milagrosa, as well as modern hybrids bred for drought resistance.