BOLD Voices: Preserving Papua New Guinea's Sweetpotato Diversity

Sweetpotato has been a vital crop in Papua New Guinea for over 400 years, providing key nutrition and income for smallholder farmers—especially in the highlands. Today, the country is recognized as a secondary center of diversity for sweetpotatoes, boasting incredible genetic richness.The National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) plays a crucial role in conserving this diversity. Its genebank holds 865 unique sweetpotato varieties, making it one of the world’s largest collections. With support from the Crop Trust’s BOLDProject, NARI has now taken a major step in safeguarding this crop for future generations.