Story

Syrian Seeds Rescued from Aleppo

March 13, 2017 | RTÉ
By
Jennifer Duggan
Fields at the foot of a mountain that divides Lebanon from Syria. Here crops are being grown from seeds that have had a long journey. From war-torn Aleppo to the global seed vault above the Arctic Circle for safe keeping and back to these fields in Lebanon. Image by Jacob Russell. Lebanon, 2016.

Fields at the foot of a mountain that divides Lebanon from Syria. Here crops are being grown from seeds that have had a long journey. From war-torn Aleppo to the global seed vault above the Arctic Circle for safe keeping and back to these fields in Lebanon. Image by Jacob Russell. Lebanon, 2016.

A seed bank that operated on the outskirts Aleppo, Syria, contained one of the most important collections of biodiverse crop samples. As the war in Syria spread to its door, scientists at the facility took steps to send samples of the seeds to safety overseas. Jennifer Duggan reports from Lebanon for RTE World Report.