The Plant Genetic Resources Research Institute of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is grappling with a severe funding shortfall that threatens its ability to preserve the country's agricultural heritage and biodiversity.

The Director of the institute, Dr. Daniel Ashie Kotey, says the facility, which stores more than 6,000 unique plant genetic resources, receives limited operational support despite its strategic role in protecting Ghana's food systems and supporting future crop development.

Speaking during Joy Business' Agribusiness Month, Dr. Kotey described the institute as a national security installation whose work underpins food sovereignty, climate resilience, and agricultural productivity.

"Plant genetic resources are the basic building blocks for crop improvement. Without them, you cannot improve crops. They are also an insurance policy against the effects of climate change and other stresses that we encounter," he said.

The institute preserves seeds and plant materials collected from across Ghana and maintains duplicate samples in international gene banks, including the Global Seed Vault in Norway, to ensure the country's agricultural resources can be restored in the event of a major disaster.

However, despite the importance of the facility, Dr. Kotey revealed that government support remains inadequate.

"There's a huge deficit in terms of funding for our daily operations and also infrastructure. Government only pays salaries. Goods and services releases occasionally, but even that one a year, it's not more than GH¢50,000," he disclosed.

According to Dr. Kotey, maintaining a modern and resilient gene bank requires significant investment in infrastructure and equipment. He noted that the institute requires about US$500,000 to upgrade and modernise critical storage and conservation facilities to meet international standards and strengthen the long-term preservation of Ghana's genetic resources.

"We handle seeds, and the seeds have to be kept alive. To keep seeds alive for eternity, you need special conditions, and those special conditions are generated with equipment that are quite expensive. Most of the time, we depend on internally generated funds. We produce seedlings and sell them to generate some income to support the maintenance of this vital natural resource. We need about US$500,000 for our operations," he explained.

With indigenous crop varieties increasingly disappearing from farms and markets, Dr. Kotey argues that strengthening the country's gene bank is no longer optional but essential.

"Every food and every harvest begins with a seed," he said, stressing that protecting Ghana's genetic resources today will determine the country's ability to feed future generations.