Plant genetic resources are a strategic resource at the heart of sustainable crop production. Their e·cient conservation and use is critical to safeguard food and nutrition security, now and in the future. Meeting this challenge will require a continued stream of improved crops and varieties adapted to particular agroecosystemconditions. The loss of genetic diversity reduces the options for sustainably managing resilient agriculture, in the face of adverse environments, and rapidly fluctuating meteorological conditions.Well-managed genebanks both safeguard genetic diversity and make it available to breeders. The Genebank Standards for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture lay down the procedures for conserving plant genetic resources.These voluntary Standards set the benchmark for current scientific and technical best practices, and support the key international policy instruments for the conservation and use of plant genetic resources.