Sengupta, S. (2017, October 13). How a Seed Bank, Almost Lost in Syria’s War, Could Help Feed a Warming Planet. Retrieved October 20, 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/13/climate/syria-seed-bank.html

In the New York Times article, “How a Seed Bank, Almost Lost in Syria’s War, Could Help Feed a Warming Planet,” the author, Somini Sengupta, shares about a Syrian organization, the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (Icarda), that collects seeds from regions within the Fertile Crescent in order to find specific crops that are highly resilient to climate changes. Ali Shehadeh, one of the seed collectors from Icarda, hunts tirelessly for various seeds that are used in agriculture today and complies them within the folders in his office in order to ensure their safety. He attempts to locate and save seeds that belong to hardy plants that could be used in the near future to feed what potentially could be an increasingly warm and arid planet. Icarda, once an asset to the Syrian government due to their research that enhanced Syria’s wheat production, has lost its prestige because the increase in the production of wheat consequently decreased Syria’s underground water source. This depletion further fueled the already present protests in Syria during 2011. In 2014, Icarda began to face problems, such as thievery, as the protests neared their headquarters which caused them to flee the country. Sengupta argues that it is not clear whether the wheat production actually led to the drought. Instead, she explains that the temperature in this region has increased over the past few years and coupled with the fact that farmers rely mostly on rain, agriculture becomes increasingly difficult due to droughts.

Icarda’s largest project, the compilation of seeds throughout the Mediterranean, would have been jeopardized if they didn’t decide to take precautionary actions and send seed samples to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault located on a Norwegian island. Due to the breakout of the war in 2015, the Icarda scientists had to borrow seeds from the vault and they began to disperse their seeds to different vaults within the region, like in Morocco and Lebanon. Despite being unable to go back, the Icarda headquarters in Aleppo contains the majority of their seed collection. This collection is vital for when the climate changes too drastically and farmers have to plant crops that are resilient and can adapt to these changes. Shehadeh’s particular interest in the wild relatives of the seeds used today stems from the notion that these plants are resilient to harsher climates and pests. Their perseverance has spread throughout the Middle Eastern region and is present in Sudan, where Icarda introduced a wheat variety resistant to drought and heat, a fava bean variety that can withstand weeds, and lentils that can mature in a short growing season. It is evident that Icarda’s research is extremely important in terms of food production for the future of our planet. The changing climate continues to create a great impact on agriculture and now is the time to compile enough research and data to ensure stability in the future.