In last five decades many efforts have been made with the aim of conservation of plant genetic resources in Croatia. The activities including collection, characterization, maintenance and regeneration of plant genetic resources are implemented in the National Programme for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. However, due to limited budget and numerous collections, the financial support for characterization and evaluation of accessions at agronomic, biochemical and genetic level is far from being sufficient. Thus, the utilization of accessions in plant breeding is limited. The Centre of Excellence for Biodiversity and Molecular Plant Breeding aims at creating a strong link between germplasm collections, scientific research and breeding programs.

Major objectives of the activities that will be carried are the following:

1. Further characterization and evaluation of plant genetic resources
2. Increase of benefits arising out of use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture