As I wrote in one of my previous reports, in Greece, 97% of the vegetable species have extinct over the last 50 years. Moreover, from the cultivated cereals, only about 1-2% belong to native varieties.

In 1923, the book of the botanist Papadakis, 186 different species of wheat and barley are described. Today, only about 20 of them are still grown, and most of the time they are grown in isolated areas or Greek islands by aged farmers. Luckily, as many as 146 species of these seeds have been preserved in the Greek banks of genetic material!

The banks of genetic material are the result of the concern of many conscious scientists from international organizations who have realized the danger of the loss of a huge amount of genetic wealth, developed by human and natural selection over thousands of years, in just some decades. International organizations such as UNDP (United Nations Development Program), CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research), FAO (Food and Agriculture organization) etc., supported the creation of banks of genetic material in strategic locations, with high variety of species, around the globe. One of the most important countries on this field is Greece.

These seed banks are aimed to prevent Genetic Erosion. Genetic Erosion is the loss of genetic diversity within a species.

The Greek Bank of Genetic Material was inaugurated in 1981. Its purpose is the early collection and effective protection of the agricultural biodiversity of the country.

It is worthwhile also to mention the effort of the NGO Archipelago, which created ARK - Aegean Seed Bank, which aims to collect and preserve seeds, as well as to propagate the cultivation of local varieties of plants, taken from the islands of the Aegean Sea.

To make these efforts continue we should recognize the importance of the preservation of the local traditional varieties.

For instance, the societies survived millennia by the cultivation of the unique varieties of fruits, vegetables and grain in their islands.

Such varieties needed centuries to genetically conform to the special conditions of the islands, for instance, the shortage of water, the strong winds, the poor in nutrients soil and most importantly to the pathogens. Therefore, these varieties may develop well, with confined water and nutrient needs, while they may defend themselves against natural enemies, meaning that they may develop free from the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

The Greek Bank of Genetic Material currently retains 10.500 varieties, which may be conserved for over 100 years. Indicatively, it contains about 300 varieties of vine, most of which are rare but an integral part of the local tradition (Retsina of Attica, Mavrodafni of Patras, Asirtiko of Santorini).

The benefits from the creation of the bank is that varieties may be lent to farmers, either from areas with small quantity of nutrients and water or from places of ecological agriculture. These farmers invest only on local tasteful varieties which do not need pesticides or fertilizers for their production.

Nick Stavropoulos, the head of the Greek genetic material bank, notes:

-Whoever controls the genetic material of the plants controls the future diet. The international companies produce seeds for the whole world, and are able to enforce their will-

It is a shame that a  year ago there was a serious risk for this seed bank to be victim of the financial crisis in Greece, since no money were available for its operation. Fortunately, with the help of  EC funding the problem seems to be resolved.

Sources:

http://www.nagref.gr/journals/ethg/images/23/ethg23p24-26.pdf

(Sorry, it is in Greek)

http://archipelago.gr/en/seed-bank/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genetic_erosion 

http://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/Native_Plant_Materials/documents/genetics_Vol_11.pdf

http://www.kathimerini.gr/498562/article/epikairothta/ellada/8a-xa8ei-h-trapeza-sporwn

(Sorry, it is also in Greek )