his week, the Global Seed Vault received another addition to its seed storage. The Seed Vault is opened three times a year, but this year was special as it celebrated its 15th anniversary.

The Genebank of the The Centre of Estonian Rural Research and Knowlege sent another batch of Estonian seeds, 103 records in total. The package was deposited by Åsmund Åsdal, the Coordinator of the Seed Vault.
The first Estonian consignment arrived in the Seed Vault five years ago, on the 100th Anniversary of Estonian Republic.

A total of 20 gene banks deposited seeds in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault this year. For the first time, seeds were sent by Albania, North Macedonia, Croatia and Benin.

The ceremony was attended by Sandra Borch, Norwegian Minister of Agriculture.