The role of CGIAR germplasm health units in enhancing the germplasm phytosanitary safety and mitigation of transboundary pest spread

Abstract

The safe international exchange of plant genetic resources is critical for global food security, biodiversity conservation, and agricultural innovation. CGIAR’s Germplasm Health Units (GHUs) play a pivotal role in ensuring that germplasm distributed from CGIAR genebanks and breeding programs is free from pests and diseases, thus protecting recipient countries from the inadvertent introduction of harmful transboundary pests. CGIAR programs export over 1000 germplasm samples of the most important food and forage crops to over 100 countries annually for international trials and use in crop improvement research. For instance, GHUs facilitated 1,741 exchange events to 125 countries; 84.1% (1464 events) were exports, and 15.9% (277 events) were imports. GHUs are responsible for implementing phytosanitary protocols aligned with international standards, particularly those set by the FAO International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and National Plant Protection Organizations (NPPOs). In this process, GHUs employes a range of advanced diagnostic tools, including molecular testing, visual inspections, and germplasm therapies, to ensure the phytosanitary safety of seeds and vegetative propagules. In 2024, 369,878 samples were analyzed for pest detection, employing 1,270,396 diagnostic assays, which resulted in the detection and separation of 8.1% of contaminated samples for replacement with clean stocks. GHUs have also adopted next-generation diagnostic technologies for virus detection, particularly in clonal crop germplasm, which is known to have several cryptic viruses. As part of the systems approach to phytosanitary risk mitigation, GHUs conduct pest risk assessment and mitigation throughout the production cycle to eliminate the quarantine pest exposure risk and select healthy plants for sourcing germplasm for conservation and distribution. Through these efforts, GHUs actively prevent the movement of seed-borne quarantine pests, the spread of which could threaten agricultural systems and biodiversity. In addition, GHUs serve as capacity-building hubs, supporting national and regional plant health systems through training, technical assistance, and collaborative research and contributing to global surveillance and biosecurity networks. For over 50 years, GHUs have been instrumental in ensuring the supply of healthy, pest-free genetic material from CGIAR programs, thereby contributing to global agricultural sustainability and food system resilience.