National Seed Bank

National Seed Bank (NSB) is a non-profit with 6 million $USD budget research center aiming to conserve the local natural plant heritage (more than 2600 wild species) in the form of seeds with a focus on genetic resources for food and agriculture, and to make it available to researchers and breeders locally, regionally, and globally. NSB is projected to help in improving food security through performing scientific research to develop plants that can adapt to climate change that is negatively affecting the already harsh environment. The National Seed Bank is accompanied by a herbarium that aims to preserve dried plant specimens in order to confirm taxa and provide information needed for phylogeny and classification studies and change in vegetation cover over time. The National Seed Bank and the herbarium perform their tasks in partnership with many local and international partners taking into consideration the spirit and implications of the relevant international agreements such as the convention of biological diversity and the international treaty on plant genetic resources for food and agriculture of FAO. The National Seed Bank aims to collecting and preserving plants wild genetic resources for current and long-term purposes, preserving plant genes according to the universally recommended protocols, and sharing genetic information with breeders and exchanging information locally, regionally, and internationally.