Standards
Own model, adapters on output
A standard is an output projection, never the shape of the model. A bank should not have to reorganise its information because a registry changed its format.
In plant the standard exists; in animal it does not
The plant passport has a chain that works: MCPD v2, from FAO and Alliance Bioversity-CIAT, feeds EURISCO, Genesys and national inventories. Akervo adopts it from the first record in its plant profile.
The animal world has no equivalent. What exists covers different pieces and does not fit together:
| Reference | Level | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| DAD-IS (FAO) | Breed | Register of breeds, population and risk status by country. Feeds SDG indicator 2.5.1b. It is controlled vocabulary, not a sample passport. |
| EUGENA / ERFP | Collection | European network of member gene banks and its reporting tool. It eases exchange, but publishes no passport schema. |
| CryoWEB | Sample | Gene bank documentation software used in several countries. Its schema is a de facto reference, not a norm. |
| IMAGE / BioSamples | Sample | The closest thing to an animal passport: a metadata rule set defined in a European project that ended in 2020, leaning towards genomics. |
| FAO cryoconservation guidelines | — | Guidance with a recommended minimum data set. It orients rather than defining a schema. |
The design consequence
Binding the animal profile to any of those would have thinned the shared core to the point of uselessness, and tied the product to a schema nobody maintains. Akervo keeps its own kingdom-agnostic model and treats each standard as a versioned adapter.
For the animal profile that rests on what is settled: a breed catalogue aligned to DAD-IS and EFABIS, donor identification through the codes that already exist — ISO transponder, official ear tag, ICAR — and the minimum data set from the FAO guidelines.
A practical effect: SDG indicator 2.5.1b — local breeds held in the bank — comes out of the system with no extra work. It is an annual return that is compiled by hand today.
Sharing between banks
A bank can publish part of its collection so others can find it, without giving up control of what it exposes or migrating to any shared system. What is published is a dated, attributed copy: the source bank remains the owner of the data and can withdraw it.
It is a capability of the product, not its reason to exist. Akervo justifies itself by running one collection well; the network is what follows from a well-built model.