Genesys Expands with Three New Data Providers
April 21, 2026
Growing the global network of Genesys data providers
The addition of three new data providers in 2026 marks another step in strengthening the collaborative network behind Genesys. Through these partnerships, more plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA) data will become openly accessible to the global community.
Institut Togolais de Recherche Agronomique - Togo
The Institut Togolais de Recherche Agronomique (ITRA) is Togo’s national agricultural research institute under the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Rural Development. Its mission is to generate and adapt agronomic innovations that enhance productivity, ensure food security, and conserve national agrobiodiversity through applied research and capacity building.
ITRA hosts a multidisciplinary program, covering PGRFA management, plant breeding, biotechnology, soil management, and post-harvest systems. The institute maintains field genebanks and seed collections at its Lomé, Davié, Kpalimé, Kolocope and Kara stations, preserving both traditional and improved crop varieties of major staples. ITRA has established collaborations with Bioversity International, IITA, AfricaRice, and ICRISAT, and has participated in the Genebank Platform.
Agrosavia - Colombia
The AGROSAVIA genebank is Colombia’s national repository for plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. Formally established in 1994, it builds on earlier national collections and today conserves more than 36,000 accessions of important crops for food and agriculture.
One of its most distinctive features is its distributed conservation network across Colombia: seed collections are maintained at La Selva and Tibaitatá, in vitro collections at Tibaitatá, and field collections across nine AGROSAVIA research centers: Caribia, Turipaná, La Selva, Palmira, El Mira, Nataima, Tibaitatá, La Libertad, and La Suiza. This multi-site structure helps safeguard diverse crops under different conservation systems while supporting their characterization, documentation, and use in research, breeding, food security, and agricultural resilience.
Both ITRA and Agrosavia genebanks are part of the project Securing Our Seeds funded by Google.org, aimed to digitize genebanks in West Africa and Latin America, and publish data in Genesys.
Irish Seed Savers Association - Ireland
The Irish Seed Savers Association (ISSA) is a non-governmental organization dedicated to the conservation of Ireland’s cultivated plant genetic resources, with a particular focus on traditional open-pollinated crop varieties and heritage fruit trees. Founded in 1991 by Anita Hayes in response to the loss of locally adapted food crop diversity, ISSA began on a small farm in County Carlow and is now based in Capparoe, Scariff, County Clare, where it manages over 20 acres of organically cultivated land. Its collections include Ireland’s only living seed bank, which maintains vegetable, grain, herb, and flower varieties, as well as the National Heritage Apple Tree Collection.
ISSA’s work is based on conservation through use, combining ex situ maintenance of living collections with seed growing, orchard stewardship, education, and public engagement to support the continued use and preservation of Irish crop diversity.
ISSA is part of the EURSICO network of European genebanks and already share data in Genesys, but by becoming an independent data provider, ISSA can share more information on the platform, so stay tuned!