Bloomberg: Inside 'Future Seeds' in Colombia by Jaír F. Coll

A worker rides a tricycle in fr...ír F. Coll/Bloomberg

A worker rides a tricycle in front of the entrance of International Center for Tropical Agriculture, CIAT, in Palmira, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, Aug. 25, 2022. Photographer: Jaír F. Coll/Bloomberg

A busload of workers enters the...grapher: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A busload of workers enters the main road of the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, CIAT, in Palmira, Valle Cauca department, Colombia, on August 25, 2022. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

Rice cultivation at the Interna...grapher: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

Rice cultivation at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, CIAT, in Palmira, department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia, on August 25, 2022. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

Flags of the countries that hav...grapher: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

Flags of the countries that have supported the Bioversity International and the CIAT Alliance, at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, in Palmira, department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia, on August 25, 2022. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A woman enters the new building...grapher: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A woman enters the new building of the International Center for Tropical Agriculture in Palmira, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, Aug. 25, 2022. The building cost US$17.2 million to build and was inaugurated in March of 2022 to continue researching, preserving and distributing seeds from around the world, especially beans, cassava and forage. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A map showing how the Internati...grapher: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A map showing how the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, CIAT, has distributed more than 500,000 seeds to 143 countries since 1973. Photo taken in Palmira, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, on August 25, 2022. CIAT is part of the Bioversity International Alliance, which brings together more than 14 germplasm banks in the United States, India, and Italy, among other countries. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A scientist performs a quality ...grapher: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A scientist performs a quality control check on forage crops at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, CIAT, in Palmira, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, Aug. 25, 2022. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

Two workers collect forage samp...grapher: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

Two workers collect forage samples at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, CIAT, in Palmira, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, on August 25, 2022. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A worker shows a forage sample ...grapher: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A worker shows a forage sample at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, CIAT, in Palmira, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, on August 25, 2022. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A worker collect forage samples...grapher: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A worker collect forage samples at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, CIAT, in Palmira, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, on August 25, 2022. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A worker inserts a forage sampl...grapher: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A worker inserts a forage sample into a container of liquid nitrogen at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, CIAT, in Palmira, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, Aug. 25, 2022. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

In vitro cassava samples at the...grapher: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

In vitro cassava samples at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, CIAT, in Palmira, department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia, on August 25, 2022. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

Marcela Santaella, CIAT operati...grapher: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

Marcela Santaella, CIAT operations manager, arranges bean samples in a laboratory at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture in Palmira, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, on August 25, 2022. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

Forage samples from different c...grapher: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

Forage samples from different countries in a laboratory at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture in Palmira, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, on August 25, 2022. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

Bean samples from different cou...grapher: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

Bean samples from different countries in a laboratory at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture in Palmira, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, on August 25, 2022. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A scientist performs diagnostic...grapher: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A scientist performs diagnostic tests on bean tissue in a laboratory at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture in Palmira, Valle Cauca, Colombia, Aug. 25, 2022. of the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, in Palmira, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, on August 25, 2022. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A map showing how the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, CIAT, has distributed more than 500,000 seeds to 143 countries since 1973. Photo taken in Palmira, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, on August 25, 2022. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A CIAT worker separates bean se...grapher: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A CIAT worker separates bean seeds with imperfections in a laboratory at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture in Palmira, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, Aug. 25, 2022. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

Bean seeds collected at a CIAT ...grapher: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

Bean seeds collected at a CIAT laboratory in Palmira, Valle Cauca department, Colombia, on August 25, 2022. International Center for Tropical Agriculture, in Palmira, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, on August 25, 2022. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A worker in a laboratory at the...grapher: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A worker in a laboratory at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, in Palmira, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, on August 25, 2022. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A scientist checks an in vitro ...grapher: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A scientist checks an in vitro cassava collection in a laboratory at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, in Palmira, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, Aug. 25, 2022. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A scientist holds a vial of in ...grapher: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A scientist holds a vial of in vitro yucca in a laboratory at the in a laboratory at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, in Palmira, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, on August 25, 2022. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A worker organizes a collection...grapher: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A worker organizes a collection of fodder and beans in a cooler that must remain below 20 degrees Celsius at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, in Palmira, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, Aug. 25, 2022. In the cooler are seeds that have been preserved since 1998; any grower or researcher in the world can request 20 seeds free of charge. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

Vacuum-sealed bags with fodder ...grapher: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

Vacuum-sealed bags with fodder and beans in a cooler that must remain below 20 degrees Celsius at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, in Palmira, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, on August 25, 2022. In the cooler are seeds that have been preserved since 1998; any grower or researcher in the world can request 20 seeds free of charge. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A worker opens a hole in a gree...grapher: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A worker opens a hole in a greenhouse where rice will be grown at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, in Palmira, department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia, on August 25, 2022. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A worker pulls vines from a bea...grapher: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A worker pulls vines from a bean crop in a greenhouse at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture in Palmira, Valle Cauca department, Colombia, Aug. 25, 2022. International Center for Tropical Agriculture, in Palmira, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, Aug. 25, 2022. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A worker shows bean seeds in a ...grapher: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A worker shows bean seeds in a greenhouse at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, in Palmira, Valle Cauca department, Colombia, August 25, 2022. International Center for Tropical Agriculture, in Palmira, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, August 25, 2022. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A worker walks in front of two ...grapher: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

A worker walks in front of two greenhouses at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, in Palmira, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, August 25, 2022. International Center for Tropical Agriculture, in Palmira, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, August 25, 2022. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

Frontage of the new 'Se...grapher: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg

Frontage of the new 'Seeds of the Future' germplasm bank at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture, Palmira, department of Valle del Cauca, Colombia, August 25, 2022. International Center for Tropical Agriculture, in Palmira, Valle del Cauca department, Colombia, August 25, 2022. Photographer: Jair F. Coll/Bloomberg