108
5 Conservation Costs of PGRFA
costs of germplasm collection to US $ 1.00 per accession. No discount rate is
applied for this first rough estimation. At the genebank, the material collected is
multiplied to increase the seed availability, to generate the two safety-duplicates,
as well as to collect information on its characterization and the first evaluation.
The multiplication costs, including the preparation activities, are calculated with
US $ 0.5 for one accession (Singh, 1996). These activities occur only once in the
conservation span of the accession. Therefore the costs can be distributed as
annuity over 100 years, which amounts to costs of US $ 0.01 per annum. The
costs for characterization and the first evaluation of the accessions amount to US
$ 3.00 per accession (Singh, 1996). These activities must be repeated every time
the accession is regenerated to verify the germinated material. It is a common
practice to regenerate the germplasm every 10 years. Consequently, the annual
average costs of characterization and first evaluation are US $ 0.3.
2. Maintenance costs: The seed for one accession to be stored in the genebank and
two safety duplicates stored in other gene banks must be prepared for the
conservation (dried to 5% moisture content, packed and sealed). Once stored in
the genebank (for long-term storage) annual costs for electricity and germination
control in certain frequencies are incurred. US $ 0.57 are calculated for the
conservation preparations, the conservation, and the germination control (Rao,
1996t. As a second important activity for maintaining germplasm, the
accessions are regenerated once every 10 years. Theoretically, accessions may be
stored without loosing their viability for up to 100 years or even more (Holden et
aI., 1984). It is difficult to generalize the cost for regeneration, because the
regeneration activities are very site-specific. If the accessions are regenerated at a
site at or nearby the genebank costs amount to US $ 3.5 for one accession (Rao,
1996). The more distant the place of regeneration and the more difficult the
pollination of the crop, the higher the costs, which may exceed US $ 50
(CGRFA, 1996). For a cost calculation of a genebank located in a developing
country, it is assumed that most of the germplasm originates from the country
itself, resulting in minimal costs.
3. Processing costs: Besides the conservation activities in the narrow sense, costs
are incurred for preparing the accessions to be easily accessible for utilization as
well as for systematically recording information and management. According to
Rani (1996) the information management may be calculated with US $ 0.14 per
stored accession and year. Furthermore, US $ 3.00 are calculated for the analysis
of each single trait in the 2nd evaluation; i.e., the screening for biotic or abiotic
stress factors (e.g., certain salt tolerance) or for food qualities (e.g., for oil or
protein) (Rao, 1996). It may be estimated that an accession is screened on
average for up to five traits every year. Therefore, the annual calculation
amounts to US $ 15.00 per accession. By request, the germplasm is multiplied
and sent to the requesting organizations. Because of the evaluation process the
" According to RAO the amount is US $ 0.45 per accession and year, but this estimation includes
only the electricity, the maintenance of building and equipment, and the personnel costs for the
genebank manager. An additional US $ 0.12 per accession has to be calculated to cover all
accession maintenance work.
5 Conservation Costs of PGRFA
costs of germplasm collection to US $ 1.00 per accession. No discount rate is
applied for this first rough estimation. At the genebank, the material collected is
multiplied to increase the seed availability, to generate the two safety-duplicates,
as well as to collect information on its characterization and the first evaluation.
The multiplication costs, including the preparation activities, are calculated with
US $ 0.5 for one accession (Singh, 1996). These activities occur only once in the
conservation span of the accession. Therefore the costs can be distributed as
annuity over 100 years, which amounts to costs of US $ 0.01 per annum. The
costs for characterization and the first evaluation of the accessions amount to US
$ 3.00 per accession (Singh, 1996). These activities must be repeated every time
the accession is regenerated to verify the germinated material. It is a common
practice to regenerate the germplasm every 10 years. Consequently, the annual
average costs of characterization and first evaluation are US $ 0.3.
2. Maintenance costs: The seed for one accession to be stored in the genebank and
two safety duplicates stored in other gene banks must be prepared for the
conservation (dried to 5% moisture content, packed and sealed). Once stored in
the genebank (for long-term storage) annual costs for electricity and germination
control in certain frequencies are incurred. US $ 0.57 are calculated for the
conservation preparations, the conservation, and the germination control (Rao,
1996t. As a second important activity for maintaining germplasm, the
accessions are regenerated once every 10 years. Theoretically, accessions may be
stored without loosing their viability for up to 100 years or even more (Holden et
aI., 1984). It is difficult to generalize the cost for regeneration, because the
regeneration activities are very site-specific. If the accessions are regenerated at a
site at or nearby the genebank costs amount to US $ 3.5 for one accession (Rao,
1996). The more distant the place of regeneration and the more difficult the
pollination of the crop, the higher the costs, which may exceed US $ 50
(CGRFA, 1996). For a cost calculation of a genebank located in a developing
country, it is assumed that most of the germplasm originates from the country
itself, resulting in minimal costs.
3. Processing costs: Besides the conservation activities in the narrow sense, costs
are incurred for preparing the accessions to be easily accessible for utilization as
well as for systematically recording information and management. According to
Rani (1996) the information management may be calculated with US $ 0.14 per
stored accession and year. Furthermore, US $ 3.00 are calculated for the analysis
of each single trait in the 2nd evaluation; i.e., the screening for biotic or abiotic
stress factors (e.g., certain salt tolerance) or for food qualities (e.g., for oil or
protein) (Rao, 1996). It may be estimated that an accession is screened on
average for up to five traits every year. Therefore, the annual calculation
amounts to US $ 15.00 per accession. By request, the germplasm is multiplied
and sent to the requesting organizations. Because of the evaluation process the
" According to RAO the amount is US $ 0.45 per accession and year, but this estimation includes
only the electricity, the maintenance of building and equipment, and the personnel costs for the
genebank manager. An additional US $ 0.12 per accession has to be calculated to cover all
accession maintenance work.