SPC launches first cryopreservation lab in the Pacific region

30 October 2025

Suva, Fiji – The Pacific Community (SPC) has marked a major step forward for agriculture and food security in the region with the opening of the Pacific’s first Cryopreservation Plant Genetic Laboratory (CryoLab) on Wednesday 29^th October.

Located at SPC’s Centre for Pacific Crops and Trees (CePaCT) in Narere, Suva, this new facility, will help Pacific Island countries protect and preserve the plants that are vital to their cultures, diets, and economies, especially as climate change continues to threaten these valuable crops.

The CryoLab was officially opened by Fiji’s Minister for Fisheries and Forestry, Hon. Alitia Bainivalu, and in her keynote address, shared, “For many years, CePaCT has served as the regional custodian of our crop diversity, safeguarding the plants that feed us and shape our traditions. However, our challenges are evolving faster than ever, potentially threatening crop variety, impacting the regions resilience, choices and potentially a loss of culture. This CryoLab represents the protection of those choices, our insurance for the future”

The CryoLab is especially important for crops that are difficult to store long-term using traditional methods, such as coconut, taro, yam, breadfruit, and cassava. These crops hold deep cultural meaning and are essential for daily life across the Pacific. By freezing plant samples at ultra-low temperatures, the CryoLab ensures that the region’s plant genetic diversity can be safely conserved for future generations.

SPC Deputy Director-General, Dr Paula Vivili, in his opening remarks shared, “The CryoLab secures our most important crops permanently, reducing costs over time, and enabling faster recovery when disasters strike. It also strengthens compliance with international standards and safeguards high-value crops with no other long-term conservation options.”

The new facility strengthens CePaCT’s existing collections and will eventually serve as a secure backup for national plant collections around the region. It’s also highly cost-efficient, expected to nearly triple CePaCT’s storage capacity from about 12,000 to around 30,000 samples. Currently, CePaCT maintains over 2,000 varieties of crops and trees gathered over the past 20 years.

Building the CryoLab was made possible through an international partnership valued at FJD 1.26 million, supported by the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), and the Global Crop Diversity Trust.

CePaCT is the Pacific’s main regional genebank and was established in 1998 by SPC as part of its long-term investment in sustainable, food-secure Pacific. CePaCT is internationally recognised by the Global Crop Diversity Trust, the CGIAR Research Institutes and international networks as a focal point for plant genetic resources for food and agriculture in the region.