The replacement of traditional crop varieties with improved cultivars during twentieth century was resulting loss of old crop varieties. These traditional crop varieties or plant genetic resources have many characters that can help to develop high yielding varieties that are tolerant to biotic and abiotic stresses in future. It makes them an important asset for sustainable agriculture and food security. When the threat of extinction of traditional crop varieties was felt in the world, several countries started the conservation and research of plant genetic resources. Awareness about the conservation of plant genetic resources grew due to international efforts as a result of which systematic collection and conservation of plant genetic resources started in Pakistan in 1970s as a collaborative effort of Pakistan Agricultural Research Council and international organizations. Plant Genetic Resources Institute (PGRI) was established in 1993 through technical cooperation from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

PlantGenetic Resources Program hosts the sole National Genebank of Pakistan for conservation of plant genetic resources and six labs including germplasm exploration lab, seed preservation lab, in vitro conservation lab, germplasm evaluation lab, plant introduction and seed health lab and data management lab. The  PlantGenetic Resources Program also has green houses, field area for conducting experiments and clonal repository where genetic resources of clonally propagated crops like fruits are preserved as living plants.