Improving the identification, handling and storage of “difficult” seeds ...

Species that demonstrate low levels of viability during initial tests
Helianthus annuus
Species that demonstrate low levels of viability after a period of storage
Helianthus annuus
Arachis hypogaea
Constraints (question 5.10)
Malawi is constrained in many ways for proper management of ex situ collections. Below are some
of the constraints according to priorities:
▪ Lack of appropriate infrastructure
The offices occupied by genebank are not suitable for genebank operations. The current building
requires redoing in order to suit genebank requirements. For instance, the current building does not
have a laboratory for seed testing, yet seed testing is a prerequisite to conservation of germplasm.
Also in terms of vegetative materials, Malawi genebank does not have tissue culture equipment for
cleaning materials that have been affected by diseases and also for slow growth
▪ Backup power
Malawi has a major problem with power interruption. This problem requires immediate attention by
procuring a generator that will give power in times of power cuts. This is a big challenge but the
Nordic Genebank has promised to purchase a standby generator.
▪ Inadequate staff
For Malawi Plant Genetic Resources Centre to fully function, it requires the following officers:
curator, collection officer, characterization and multiplication officer, documentation officer, and
storage officer. At the moment there are only three officers and one is pending retirement. This
leaves a gap in terms of professionalism. At technical level, the MPGRC has only two technical
officers against five areas in the genebank. In addition to the technical officers, there are three
technical assistants. The current staffing level is far from the requirement of genebank for efficient
performance. Other area that is lagging behind is the documentation. This area needs highly skilled
personnel to handle different types of data generated in the genebank. Currently there is only one
officer who is conversant with database management.
▪ Lack of technical skills in managing ex situ collections
Most of staff members have their background in general agriculture, not in the area of genetic
resources. This deters proper management of plant genetic resources. This requires continuous
training of genebank officers in different fields. The following areas require immediate attention:
tissue culture, database management, seed testing procedures, taxonomy (for species identification)
and molecular biology.
▪ Inadequate local support
There is still an apparent lack of recognition of the conservation work at National level as evidenced
from resource allocation which has resulted in heavy reliance on funding from donor projects.
▪ Lack of modern computers to document materials in the genebank
Documentation is very critical in management of ex situ collections as such modern computers are
required for this exercise.
▪ Lack of financial support to rejuvenate old samples
Malawi is ecologically diverse. Samples under storage were collected from different ecological
zones. This implies that samples need to be multiplied or rejuvenated in sites that have similar
ecological conditions to their collection points. This exercise requires a lot financial resources.
Possible solutions to the constraints
From the problems highlighted above, an appropriate genebank office is the first and critical
problem. Since constructing a new building is capital intensive, it is not possible to raise a new
building using meagre local resources. This requires support from external donors that can support
the local resources. Therefore, Malawi requests support from donors to construct a new genebank
office so that ex situ collections are sustainably maintained.