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October 2025 Meeting Summary

We came together on 13 October 2025 for our Advisory Committee meeting! It was a great moment to reflect on everything we've achieved throughout the year and to start sketching out our vision for 2026.

Celebrating our 2025 Wins​

It's been a busy and productive year, and we have so much to be proud of. Together, we've made significant strides in making PGRFA more accessible and well-documented:

  • We're thrilled to welcome new data providers from Peru and Uruguay, continuing our effort to grow the global network.
  • We achieved a fantastic 91% update rate for our data, ensuring that the information available to users remains current and reliable.
  • Our Embedded Genesys rollout is moving forward, with 7 genebanks now integrated.
  • We've officially kicked off the UI/UX redesign to make the Genesys experience more intuitive for everyone.
  • On the technical side, we successfully completed our hardware server migration, ensuring a more stable and performant platform.

Looking Ahead to 2026​

While we're celebrating our wins, we're already looking forward to the possibilities of 2026. Our roadmap is packed with exciting ambitions:

  • Expanding our reach: We're planning to onboard more partners through the Digitize Genebanks project.
  • Deepening our data: We aim to expand the amount of trait data available, giving researchers and breeders even more insight into PGR.
  • A fresh look: The new UI/UX will come to life, making discovery easier.
  • Breaking language barriers: We're working on translations for Arabic and Chinese to make Genesys truly global.
  • Embracing the future: We're exploring AI integration to help users navigate complex data more efficiently.
  • Technical upgrades: We'll be implementing BrAPI upgrades to improve how we exchange data with other systems.

Deep Dives & Discussions​

Beyond the roadmap, we had some truly insightful conversations about the future of plant genetic resource data:

The Value of Sparse Data We discussed how even 'sparse' trait data, where only a few characteristics are known for many accessions, can be incredibly valuable. It helps us identify critical gaps in our knowledge and guides where more research is needed.

Characterization vs. Evaluation A key point of our discussion was the importance of distinguishing between characterization data (the descriptive, stable traits of a plant) and evaluation data (the results of experimental trials). Keeping these clear helps users understand the context and reliability of the information they find.

Knowledge Hubs We explored the role of documentation hubs. The goal is not to replace existing networks but to complement them, creating a central point of guidance that helps users find their way through the wider PGRFA ecosystem.

Our Evolving Committee Finally, we talked about the composition of the Advisory Committee. While genebanks will always be our core, we want to broaden our expertise by including more breeders and end-users. This ensures that the tools we build are perfectly aligned with the needs of those who use them.

Our Community​

A warm thank you to everyone who joined the conversation:

  • Chris Richards (USDA)
  • Francisco Lopez (ITPGRFA, FAO)
  • Luigi Guarino (Crop Trust)
  • Zakaria Kehel (CGIAR)
  • Sarada Krishnan (Crop Trust)
  • Stephan Weise (IPK)
  • Semíramis Rabelo Ramalho Ramos (Embrapa)
  • Sunil Archak (NBPGR, India)
  • Matija Obreza & Christelle Rabil (Genesys team)