- England deserve 'world class' coach: Carsley
- Burkina Faso win to become first qualifiers for 2025 AFCON
- AC Milan's Pulisic among five out for USA match in Mexico
- France's Amandine Henry retires from international football
- Centre-left set to win pro-Ukraine Lithuania's vote
- India's World Cup hopes in Pakistan hands after Australia defeat
- Zelensky says NKorea sending troops to Russian army
- England beat Finland to get back on track
- King and Lewis propel West Indies to T20 triumph over Sri Lanka
- Pre-Halloween 'Terrifier' lands atop North America box office
- 'I still plan to compete and play next season,' says Djokovic
- Harris, Trump seek advantage in knife-edge election battle
- Chepngetich shatters women's marathon world record in Chicago
- Kamindu and Asalanka power Sri Lanka to 179 against West Indies
- Chepngetich shatters women's marathon world record as Korir wins in Chicago
- Spain send injured Yamal home 'to prioritise player's health'
- In milestone, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- Iraq walks fine line with pro-Iran factions to avoid war
- Race four abandoned after New Zealand breeze into 3-0 lead in America's Cup
- West Indies win toss, put Sri Lanka in to bat in first T20
- Sudan rescuers say air strike killed 23 in Khartoum market
- Netanyahu tells UN to move Lebanon peacekeepers out of 'harm's way'
- Bangladeshi Hindus defy attack worries to celebrate festival
- Kiwis three up in America's Cup as Ineos pay for time penalty
- In a first, SpaceX 'catches' megarocket booster after test flight
- Dominant England crush Scotland at Women's T20 World Cup
- Dropped: The rise and fall of Pakistan batting maestro Babar Azam
- Israel fights Hezbollah on the ground, pounds Lebanon from the air
- Sabalenka outlasts local hero Zheng to win third Wuhan Open title
- Bangladeshi Hindus shrug off attack worries to celebrate festival
- Former Pakistan captain Azam dropped for second England Test
- 'Opportunist' Dupont dazzles on Toulouse return
- Australia replace injured Vlaeminck with Graham at Women's T20 World Cup
- Sinner wins Shanghai Masters to deny Djokovic 100th career title
- Ubisoft fears assassin's hit over falling sales
- Israel hits Lebanon from the air and fights Hezbollah on the ground
- China's Yin has 'goosebumps' as she romps to LPGA win in Shanghai
- Pakistan to re-use Multan pitch for second England Test
- Blair and King Charles hail Salmond's 'devotion' to Scotland
- Vietnam, China hold talks on calming South China Sea tensions
- SpaceX will try to 'catch' giant Starship rocket shortly before landing
- England captain Stokes in line for second Pakistan Test return
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgery: reports
- Japan's former empress Michiko discharged after surgey: reports
- Israel widens Lebanon strikes as troops fight Hezbollah along border
- Bowlers' graveyards: Pakistan's placid pitches under fresh fire
- 'Little Gregory' murder haunts France 40 years on
- Vietnam, China to expand rail links, cross-border payments
- Americans get their belief back as Pochettino makes his mark
- Vietnam, China to boost economic, defence cooperation
In Costa Rica, saving seeds to feed future generations
In the tropical mountains of Costa Rica, scientists guard a treasure trove of seeds collected over decades as a bulwark against food insecurity and climate change.
Some 6,200 samples from 125 species of squash, chilli, tomato and other edible plants are held at the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) near the town of Turrialba.
In temperatures as low as minus 20 degrees Celsius, the seeds can be kept for up to 40 years for purposes of research, genetic engineering of plants more resistant to pests, diseases or changing weather, or to replace species that die out.
The bank "is a resource we have for use now or in the future," plant geneticist William Solano told AFP at the facility some 60 km east of the capital San Jose.
It holds seeds from 57 countries, he said, but about 90 percent are from the Central American region, collected from markets and farms or growing wild.
The CATIE stockpile, stacked on shelves in hundreds of small, silver envelopes, includes the second-largest collection of squash family seeds in the world.
Many of the seeds are not present in banks anywhere else in the world, according to the center.
- 'Genetic archive' -
"In response to climate change, we have here important materials for food security that are locally adapted" to a variety of climate conditions, ranging from humidity to extreme drought, Solano told AFP.
As ever-more extreme weather threatens food production, traditional, native seeds are essential to "give sustainability to agri-food systems," he added.
According to seed expert Ester Vargas of the University of Costa Rica, "there is variability in native seeds that gives them the ability to adapt to different conditions" in the areas of their origin.
Seed banks like the one at CATIE serve to guarantee an availability of "crops with high nutritional value" for generations to come, she added.
The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that almost one in ten people in the world suffered hunger in 2022 -- some 735 million in total -- with increases in parts of Africa, western Asia and the Caribbean.
The FAO says seed banks help preserve "the most adapted varieties" for a given region.
"As climate change has a significant impact on agricultural production, growing local varieties, which have a high degree of genetic diversity, is highly important because these varieties have the ability to better withstand and adapt to environmental stresses and changes," a document on the organization's website states.
CATIE agronomist Daniel Fernandez said the bank also served another purpose: as a "genetic archive" of species that were replaced by more modified crops and that one day may need to be brought back.
M.Fischer--AMWN