Uganda has a rich diversity of crops and a good landrace collection is maintained at the National Genebank. In the genebank, seed samples are dried to very low moisture content percentage weight and stored in freezers at -20°C. Under such conditions the seed can stay alive for up to 50 years. The Genebank ensures that seed placed in storage are of the highest quality to achieve maximum longevity. The seed are frequently regenerated to ensure their genetic integrity is maintained.

The Genebank holds an ex-situ collection of over 5,200 accessions of orthodox seeds for short- and long-term conservation. The value of the collections is comprehended through their effective use by making them accessible to breeders, researchers and other interested users. This collection covers various crop groups, primarily cereals, legumes, oil crops, forages, vegetables and fiber crops as well as a range of crop wild relatives. The conserved collection is regenerated and characterized within respective crop breeding programmes.

Species whose seed cannot survive desiccation and very low temperature levels (referred to as recalcitrant) and are conserved in the Entebbe Botanic Gardens as live collections. The garden maintains over 500 plant species including both exotic and indigenous.