Seed Collecting in Pakistan: the challenges and successes

Pakistan is one of 24 national partners supported by the Crop Wild Relatives Project, a ten-year global effort that is helping to make sure the wild relatives of our most important crops are conserved and used for food security as the climate changes. Over the past two years, Pakistani plant collectors have made 202 seed collections, gathering more than two million seeds of 32 species related to 18 crops from deserts, grasslands and forests subjected to temperatures as low as -20 degrees Celcisus and as high as 50 degrees Celcisus. This article highlights the trials, tribulations and successes of the process.