As the joint gene bank of the Nordic countries, NordGen’s mission is to safeguard seeds for future food production. Our gene bank contains about 33.000 seed samples from 536 different plant species. The seeds are stored in a room with hundreds of freezers. A room that has come to be called the Nordic region’s most important room.

NordGen is responsible for all plants that can be safely propagated with seeds. However, the responsibility for safeguarding vegetatively propagated plants such as fruits, berries, perennials and certain spices and herbs lies on the national gene banks in each Nordic country. The exception is potatoes, which NordGen preserves in vitro – as living plants.

Follow the menu on the left to read about NordGen’s work in the laboratory and field.