Ukraine's national seed bank relocates from Kharkiv to safer place

Ukraine's national seed bank relocates from Kharkiv to safer place

Ukraine's national seed bank, one of the world's largest, has been successfully moved from the frontline eastern city of Kharkiv to a safer location, Crop Trust, a non profit organisation said on Thursday.

Last spring, a research facility near the seed bank was damaged. That raised concerns about the preservation of the collection, the 10th largest seed collection in the world.

"As part of a year-long effort, the Ukrainian genebank system... has successfully and safely transported over 50,000 seeds from Kharkiv to a more secure location," Crop Trust, the body set up by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, said in a statement.

It gave no new location of the collection. The genebank includes many endemic seed species, some of which, including wheat and rapeseed, are important for food security.

Kharkiv is located just a few dozen kilometres from the border with Russia and the city is constantly bombarded by Russian missiles and attack drones.