The Crop Trust has launched the Power of Diversity Funding Facility (PDFF) to support the long-term conservation and availability of crop diversity. This multi-donor initiative will focus on promoting opportunity crops across Africa, Asia, the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean — crops with great potential to improve farmers’ livelihoods but often overlooked in research and development.
With initial investments of €10 million from Germany and €2 million from Ireland, the PDFF will help farmers diversify their agricultural systems with resilient, nutritious alternatives to mainstream crops. The German contribution comes via KfW, the German Development Bank, while Ireland’s funding is provided through its Department of Foreign Affairs. At the PDFF launch during the UN Desertification Conference in Riyadh in December 2024, initial funders highlighted the significant benefits of the project, according to a press release.
“Smallholders should be the ultimate beneficiaries of this initiative,” Maria Wichmann of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) said. “We need to make sure that they have the freedom of choice… Strengthening international, national and local seed banks to ensure the diversity of crops, and, in particular, the conservation and use of underutilized crops is of great importance.”
What Are Opportunity Crops?
Opportunity crops are plant species with untapped potential to improve food and nutrition security. Often grown by smallholder farmers, these crops are nutritious, climate-resilient, and require minimal resources. Despite their advantages, they remain under-researched and under-invested, leaving farmers, investors, and policymakers without the necessary data to scale their use.
The PDFF builds on the Crop Trust’s work to promote opportunity crops, including the BOLDER initiative, funded by the Government of Norway. BOLDER focuses on securing the diversity of these crops and making them accessible to smallholder farmers in four African countries.
To support this effort, the Crop Trust has launched an Opportunity Crop Knowledge Base, providing key information on crops prioritized by BOLDER partners. This resource helps food system advocates, researchers, and policymakers understand the potential of these crops and how to incorporate them into sustainable food systems.
A Global Effort
The PDFF will initially focus on 14 high-potential opportunity crops across seven countries, with the specific countries to be announced once project partners are confirmed. With additional funding, the project can expand to include more countries and crops, contributing to the global transition toward resilient and sustainable agrifood systems.
“This initiative represents a critical step in harnessing the power of crop diversity to combat some of the most pressing challenges of our time. By focusing on these relatively neglected crops, we are opening economic opportunities for farmers and delivering benefits to communities while safeguarding the future of food,” said Stefan Schmitz, Executive Director of the Crop Trust.
The PDFF is managed by the Crop Trust and will collaborate with the World Vegetable Center’s Global Vegetable Biodiversity Rescue Plan (2025–2035) to further its efforts in securing and using crop diversity.
