Indonesia is blessed with abundant natural resources spreading across more than 17,000 islands. Conservation International listed our country as one of the 17 countries with the highest biodiversity in the world. However, agricultural genetic resources in Indonesia keep decreasing due to the lack of conservation efforts and excessive use of certain plant varieties. The need for conservation efforts becomes more urgent as population continues to escalate while land area continues to shrink. Therefore, identifying, conserving, and distributing genetic resources is vital for maintaining sustainable uses, enhancing food quality, and ensuring food security.
AIC-UGM’s gene bank, in collaboration with tropical vegetable seed company East-West Seed, is the first in Indonesia to manage a germplasm collection of local and indigenous vegetable crops. Germplasm are living genetic resources such as seeds or tissues that are maintained for the purpose of animal and plant breeding, preservation, and other research uses. We work to collect, conserve, and distribute Indonesia’s vegetable germplasm and identify genes for beneficial traits.
AIC-UGM’s gene bank database contains data on accessions stored by the center. Information on germplasm includes a passport in which the accession number and all data of the sample (crop accession number, genus, species, collecting location, etc.) were recorded. So far, our gene bank has held around 1.194 accessions of various vegetables, including long bean, chili, cucumber, eggplant, as well as the endangered ones such as winged bean, Cosmos caudatus, jack bean, black-eyed pea, and okra.
Our areas of work are focused on three activities: research, education, and community services. Every year, UGM sends around 8 thousand students throughout the country to do a community service program (also known as Student Study Service; the concept of linking study with the practical experience of community service). Some of our students will take and collect vegetable seeds from various regions in Indonesia to be sorted and added to our gene bank database.
In an effort to promote vegetable production and consumption, this year we held “UGM Vegetable Expo 2019” event with activities comprising workshops, vegetable harvesting, and contests. The purpose of this event was to facilitate a meeting between seed companies, farmers, and other stakeholders, socialize high-quality seeds, and educate the community on the importance of eating vegetables. People from the local community participated in this event, including children, village officials, the police, research institutes, small and medium-sized enterprises, and academics from UGM.
The UN Sustainable Development Goal 2 “Zero Hunger” calls for sustainable solutions to end hunger in all its forms by 2030 and to achieve food security. Our gene bank facilitates students, researchers, and plant breeders to exchange information and genetic resources for sustainable uses. This will help plant breeders improve vegetable varieties ready for farmers to grow that will contribute to raising Indonesia’s agricultural productivity and farmers’ welfare.
