This study was conducted to determine the biodiversity of the plant collections at the National Field
Genebank at the National Centre for Genetic Resources and Biotechnology (NACGRAB), with the view
of evaluating the conservation strategy of the ex situ conservation of recalciterant crops in the
genebank for effective conservation and sustainable utilization. The results reveal that three hundred
and sixty-one plants were identified in the field gene bank, spread across ninety-six plant families. The
studies further show that the family Caesalpiniaceae has the highest number (20) of represented plant
species; followed by Euphorbiaceae and Rubiaceae, each having nineteen representative plant species
each. The location of the National Field Genebank at NACGRAB in Ibadan, on the latitude 7°22’ North of
the equator and longitude 3°50’ East of the Greenwich Meridian, was found to have a positive effect on
the adaptability of the plants collected from various different ecological and geographical zones of the
country, since it was observed that Ibadan has a somewhat transitory climate between the moist
tropical forests and the dry savanna regions of the country, both extreme zones being the natural
habitats of some of the plant germplasms in the Field Genebank. The advantage of ex situ live
collections over in situ conservation in terms of protection of the collections in Nigeria was also
stressed. The need to establish more ex situ live collections in the different climatic zones of the
Country to facilitate more conservation activities is also emphasized. Some of the endangered and
endemic plant species yet to be collected and conserved are enumerated, so as to receive attention
from conservation scientists in Nigeria.