5.1 Analysis of the Costs for PGRFA Conservation
105
Table 5.3. Ex situ conservation costs according to different storage facilities
Kind of genebank:
Seedbanks'
Fieldbanks
b
In vitro'
Costs/accession (US $ / a):
80
45
274
Costs originate from: • France; b the Ivory Coast
47
Source:
Trommeter, 1993
Gehl has been costing the different ex situ conservation methods at BAZ and at
IPK (see Table S.4). Similarly to Glachant (1991), Gehl concentrates on pure
conservation activities calculating the maintaining and administration costs, while
neglecting the acquisition and processing costs. Because of the quality of
cryopreservation and its high safety, the cost-intensive conservation activities, i.e.,
the preparation for freezing, which are responsible for over 90% of the total costs,
can be reduced to once every SO years or even longer (Schiifer-Menuhr, 1996).
Hence, these preparation costs may be distributed over the whole conservation
period of SO years as annuity. Consequently, cryopreservation shows the lowest
annual unit costs for ex situ conservation with US $ 22 per accession and year.
The majority of the cost accounting presented for ex situ conservation facilities
were made in industrialized countries (France and Germany). Therefore the
conservation costs cannot be simply applied for calculating the overall conservation
costs for ex situ storage facilities worldwide. For a first rough approach, the
countries conserving PGRFA ex situ are divided into two groups: the group of
Table 5.4. Costs for ex situ conservation of potatoes in Germany
Conservation Method
Costs in US $/ accession / year
Variable costs
Fixed costs
Total costs
Cryopreservation
. 0.04
22,26
22.29
Field-genebank b
11.18
39.41
50.59
In-vitro / slow growth
10.00
127.65
137.65
• recalculated according to information from GEHL, 1997b (see Appendix 7)
b managed by IPK, Gatersleben, all other activities managed by BAZ, Braunschweig
Source:
Gehl,1997a
47
Trommeter originally calculated US $ 136 for the conservation of one accession in a field
genebank (Trommeter, 1993, p. 60). The pre-conservation costs were excluded to make the
figures comparable.
105
Table 5.3. Ex situ conservation costs according to different storage facilities
Kind of genebank:
Seedbanks'
Fieldbanks
b
In vitro'
Costs/accession (US $ / a):
80
45
274
Costs originate from: • France; b the Ivory Coast
47
Source:
Trommeter, 1993
Gehl has been costing the different ex situ conservation methods at BAZ and at
IPK (see Table S.4). Similarly to Glachant (1991), Gehl concentrates on pure
conservation activities calculating the maintaining and administration costs, while
neglecting the acquisition and processing costs. Because of the quality of
cryopreservation and its high safety, the cost-intensive conservation activities, i.e.,
the preparation for freezing, which are responsible for over 90% of the total costs,
can be reduced to once every SO years or even longer (Schiifer-Menuhr, 1996).
Hence, these preparation costs may be distributed over the whole conservation
period of SO years as annuity. Consequently, cryopreservation shows the lowest
annual unit costs for ex situ conservation with US $ 22 per accession and year.
The majority of the cost accounting presented for ex situ conservation facilities
were made in industrialized countries (France and Germany). Therefore the
conservation costs cannot be simply applied for calculating the overall conservation
costs for ex situ storage facilities worldwide. For a first rough approach, the
countries conserving PGRFA ex situ are divided into two groups: the group of
Table 5.4. Costs for ex situ conservation of potatoes in Germany
Conservation Method
Costs in US $/ accession / year
Variable costs
Fixed costs
Total costs
Cryopreservation
. 0.04
22,26
22.29
Field-genebank b
11.18
39.41
50.59
In-vitro / slow growth
10.00
127.65
137.65
• recalculated according to information from GEHL, 1997b (see Appendix 7)
b managed by IPK, Gatersleben, all other activities managed by BAZ, Braunschweig
Source:
Gehl,1997a
47
Trommeter originally calculated US $ 136 for the conservation of one accession in a field
genebank (Trommeter, 1993, p. 60). The pre-conservation costs were excluded to make the
figures comparable.