Peruvian crops added to global seed vault
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Peru sent 71 varieties of crops, including quinoa, kiwicha, chili pepper, and tomato, to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway.
The Peruvian government and the National Institute of Agrarian Research (INIA) made the shipment under an existing agreement between the two countries. This delivery marks the second contribution Peru has made to the vault, also known as the ‘Noah’s Ark’, to help ensure global food security against disasters and shortages.
Christian Barrantes Bravo, director of INIA, explained that the seeds demonstrate Peru’s important role in future food supplies. He believes the nutritional quality of crops like quinoa and kiwicha gives Peru an advantage beyond its reputation for cuisine. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault, funded by the Norwegian government, stores genetic diversity at a location over 100 meters underground on the island of Spitsbergen in the Svalbard archipelago. This location protects the seeds from both natural and human-caused catastrophes.
INIA also collaborates with the International Potato Center to preserve native potato varieties and improve crops like purple corn, focusing on nutritional content and yield. Researchers at INIA have also studied the Negro Canaan variety of purple corn, which contains high levels of anthocyanin, a natural antioxidant, and now exports both the corn kernels and the anthocyanin separately.
