THE Pacific Community (SPC) has marked a major milestone for agricultural biodiversity with the opening of the region’s first Cryopreservation Plant Genetic Laboratory (CryoLab).
Based at SPC’s Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePaCT) in Narere, Suva, the CryoLab will help Pacific countries safeguard vital crops that sustain communities and traditions amid growing climate threats.
Fiji’s Minister for Fisheries and Forestry, Alitia Bainivalu, commended SPC’s leadership in ensuring the long-term preservation of the Pacific’s agricultural heritage.
“For many years, CePaCT has served as the regional custodian of our crop diversity, safeguarding the plants that feed us and shape our traditions,” she said.
“However, our challenges are evolving faster than ever, potentially threatening crop variety, impacting the region’s resilience, choices and potentially a loss of culture. This CryoLab represents the protection of those choices, our insurance for the future.”
The CryoLab, will enhance CePaCT’s capacity to conserve vital crops by using ultra-low temperature storage, a process known as cryopreservation which can store plant tissue indefinitely without genetic degradation.
SPC Deputy Director-General, Dr Paula Vivili, said the new facility will revolutionise how Pacific countries protect and restore their plant collections.
“The CryoLab secures our most important crops permanently, reducing costs over time, and enabling faster recovery when disasters strike,” he said. “It also strengthens compliance with international standards and safeguards high-value crops with no other long-term conservation options.”
The facility will also serve as a secure backup for national plant collections across the region.
The project, worth $FJD1.26 million, was supported by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), and the Global Crop Diversity Trust.