Svalbard Global Seed Vault
Welcome to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault
Way up north, in the permafrost, 1300 kilometers beyond the Arctic Circle, is the world's largest secure seed storage, opened by the Norwegian Government in February 2008. From all across the globe, crates of seeds are sent here for safe and secure long-term storage in cold and dry rock vaults.

A global backstop
The vault hold the seeds of many tens of thousands of varieties of essential food crops such as beans, wheat and rice. These seed samples are duplicates of seed sample stores in national, regional and international gene banks.

Seeds remain depositors' property
The Seed Bank was established and is fully funded by the Norwegian government, with the responsibility for operations assigned to The Ministry of Agriculture and Food. The Ministry coordinates daily operation with the Nordic Gene Resource Centre and the Global Crop Diversity Trust, and receives guidance from a dedicated international council established to advise the Seed Bank.
Video - Svalbard Global Seed Vault
Way up north, in the permafrost, 1300 kilometers beyond the Arctic Circle, is the world's largest secure seed storage. A video produced by the Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food tells the story about the Vault.
Current

Ghana genebank becomes the 100th depositor to Svalbard Global Seed Vault
The deposit of new seeds from the Ghana genebank is an important step towards ensuring the long-term protection of the country’s major food crops.

Securing the foundation of our food supply
Today the Svalbard Global Seed Vault welcomes 40,507 new seed samples from nine genebank depositors, including collections from Latvia, Morocco, Taiwan, USA, Netherlands, Israel, Poland, Zambia, and Italy.
Latest news
- Ghana genebank becomes the 100th depositor to Svalbard Global Seed Vault News story 25/10/2023
- FAO Conference 43rd Session Speech/statement 06/07/2023
- Securing the foundation of our food supply News story 06/06/2023
- The Svalbard Global Seed Vault celebrates its 15th anniversary with new seed deposits News story 28/02/2023
- Two Newcomers Join Svalbard Global Seed Vault for Final Opening of 2022 News story 12/10/2022