Evaluating the Benefits of Conserved Crop Germplasm in PNG

The objectives of the paper are twofold: to review valuation methods for plant genetic resources and to develop methods to estimate the past and potential future benefits, both domestic and international, of existing germplasm collections in Papua New Guinea (PNG). The analysis concentrates on PNG’s more important plant subsistence food crops: banana, sweet potato, and taro together with aibika. The paper documents the movement of germplasm in the food crops both within PNG and to international collections. Curators of and breeders using PNG germplasm material are surveyed concerning the future usefulness of this material, and their responses are reported and evaluated. Benefits are valued in terms of the value of future breeding in these species.