Seeds That Safeguard Our Future
How can we preserve the plant diversity we need to ensure food security, develop more resilient crop varieties and adapt agriculture to climate change?
On Tuesday, 15 September 2026, the 10th Conference on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Plant Genetic Resources will take place at the Department of Agronomy of the University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty. This year’s event will be particularly special, as it will also mark the 30th anniversary of the Slovenian Plant Gene Bank.
Slovenian and international experts will discuss the importance of plant genetic resources for food security, methods for their safe conservation, the prevention of genetic erosion, their use in plant breeding and good practices for on-farm conservation.
A special part of the conference will focus on international experience. Participants will learn about the Svalbard Global Seed Vault and a good-practice example from the Czech Plant Gene Bank. The programme will also include a workshop on future challenges and a guided visit to the seed gene bank and the collection of genetic resources of herbaceous aromatic plants at the UL Biotechnical Faculty.
The event is held under the honorary patronage of the President of the Republic of Slovenia, Dr Nataša Pirc Musar.
Date: Tuesday, 15 September 2026, from 8:30 to 15:00
Venue: University of Ljubljana, Biotechnical Faculty, Department of Agronomy, Jamnikarjeva ulica 101, Ljubljana, Lecture Room A4
Conference Programme
8:30–9:00 | Registration
9:00–9:20 | Welcome Addresses
Prof. Dr Andrej Bončina, Vice-Dean of the UL Biotechnical Faculty Prof. Dr Denis Rusjan, Vice-Dean of the UL Biotechnical Faculty for Agronomy Janez Cigler Kralj, Minister of Agriculture and Food
9:20–10:00 | Introductory Presentations
9:20–9:45 | Milestones of the Slovenian Plant Gene Bank
Zlata Luthar, UL Biotechnical Faculty; Jelka Šuštar Vozlič, Agricultural Institute of Slovenia; Andreja Čerenak, Slovenian Institute of Hop Research and Brewing; and Metka Šiško, Faculty of Agriculture and Life Sciences, University of Maribor
9:45–10:00 | The Importance of Plant Genetic Resources for Food Security in the Context of Climate Change
Joži Cvelbar, Neli Sovinc and Polona Kolarek Novšek, Ministry of Agriculture and Food
10:00–11:15 | The Future of the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Plant Genetic Resources in Slovenia
10:00–10:10 | Safe Conservation of Plant Genetic Resources and a Vision for the Future
Jelka Šuštar Vozlič, Agricultural Institute of Slovenia
10:10–10:20 | Repatriation of Plant Genetic Resources
Lovro Sinkovič, Agricultural Institute of Slovenia
10:20–10:30 | Monitoring Threats to Plant Genetic Resources and Preventing Genetic Erosion
Dea Baričevič and Valentina Usenik, UL Biotechnical Faculty
10:30–10:40 | Wild Relatives of Crop Plants and Wild Plants for Food
Jelka Šuštar Vozlič and Azra Šabič, Agricultural Institute of Slovenia
10:40–10:50 | The Use of Plant Genetic Resources in Plant Breeding
Barbara Pipan, Agricultural Institute of Slovenia, and Andreja Čerenak, Slovenian Institute of Hop Research and Brewing
10:50–11:00 | On-Farm Conservation and Sustainable Use of Plant Genetic Resources: Good Practices and Future Directions
Gregor Osterc, UL Biotechnical Faculty, and Janko Verbič, Agricultural Institute of Slovenia
11:15–12:00 | Break
12:00–12:30 | The Global Seed Vault and the Czech Plant Gene Bank
12:00–12:15 | Svalbard Global Seed Vault – Presentation of the Global Seed Vault and Seed Deposit Procedures
Fuad Gaši, Global Seed Vault Coordinator, NordGen
12:15–12:30 | A Good-Practice Example: The Czech Plant Gene Bank
Dagmar Janovska, Head of the Gene Bank and Chair of the Network of European Gene Bank Managers within ECPGR
12:30–13:30 | Workshop: Future Challenges in the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Plant Genetic Resources
13:30–14:00 | Conclusions
14:00–15:00 | Guided Visit to the Seed Gene Bank and the Collection of Genetic Resources of Herbaceous Aromatic Plants at the UL Biotechnical Faculty
You are kindly invited to join us.
The detailed conference programme and the certificate of honorary patronage are available in the attachments.