Operations, outreach and impact

Bioversity International has a standing commitment to the long-term conservation of the global banana (Musa spp.) collection held in trust at the Bioversity International Musa Germplasm Transit Centre (ITC) in Leuven, Belgium under the auspices of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO). Those CGIAR Genebanks that fulfil the eligibility principles and criteria, and have reached performance targets, may enter into a long-term agreement with the Global Crop Diversity Trust. The ITC will reach these eligibility targets by the end of 2016.

The ITC was established in 1985 with the core objectives of:
Providing long-term and sustainable conservation of Musa genetic resources;
Maintaining Musa genetic diversity and related information in the public domain;
Contributing to understanding Musa diversity through characterization;
Providing a service for the safe movement of germplasm and related information;
Developing and transferring ex situ conservation technologies