The country's only gene bank is in danger of closing down because of power shortages. The government invested Rs 80 million to set up a state-of-the-art gene bank under the Nepal Agriculture Research Centre (NARC), Khumaltar. It was inaugurated only last September by the president. Says bank chief Madan Bhatta, "Although a lot of investment went into the bank, loadshedding has meant it is not operational."
Bhatta explains that the bank was set up to support Nepal's long-term food security by preserving samples of the seeds of various species of grain, fruit, lentils, and other vegetables. But without an uninterrupted power supply, the tissue preservation section, the DNA test section, the seed test and refinement section, and other sections have all been gathering dust.