The International Potato Center (CIP) will host a milestone in international crop conservation as Brazil, Chile and Ecuador deposit selected plant genetic resources in CIP’s Cryo Vault for long-term safety duplication.

CIP’s Genebank safeguards one of the world’s most diverse collections of potato, sweetpotato, and Andean roots and tubers. Its state-of-the-art Cryo Vault uses liquid nitrogen at –196 °C to preserve plant tissues over the long term, helping protect valuable genetic resources for future generations.

Through deposits from EMBRAPA (Brazil), INIA-Chile and INIAP (Ecuador), this event will strengthen international collaboration and highlight the role of cryopreservation in safeguarding crop diversity against loss. The initiative also reinforces shared commitments under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and the global effort to conserve the genetic resources that underpin resilient food systems.