Dubai: A Dubai-based gene bank containing the world’s largest collections of genetic material of heat- and salt-tolerant plant species has officially been made available to farmers, plant breeders and scientists for the sustainable production of food from plants around the globe.

The move is part of an agreement signed by the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations, Dr José Graziano da Silva, and Director-General of the International Centre for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA), Dr Ismahane Elouafi, to expand existing cooperation between the two institutions on plant genetic resources, biosaline agriculture and climate change adaptation in the world’s marginal environments.

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