BBC News - Svalbard seed vault to take Peruvian potato samples

By Mark Kinver Science and environment reporter, BBC News

Farmers feared that some potato varieties could have been lost forever if they were not protected

Farmers in Peru are sending 1,500 varieties of potatoes to a "doomsday vault" in the Arctic Circle in order to safeguard the tubers' future.

Potatoes are regarded as the world's most important non-cereal crop, and have been eaten for about 8,000 years.

But native species from the highlands of South America appear to be at risk.

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via bbc.co.uk

 

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