International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (IT PGRFA),[1] popularly known as the International Seed Treaty, is a comprehensive international agreement in harmony with the Convention on Biological Diversity, which aims at guaranteeing food security through the conservation, exchange and sustainable use of the world's plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA), as well as the fair and equitable benefit sharing arising from its use. It also recognises Farmers' Rights, subject to national laws to: a) the protection of traditional knowledge relevant to plant genetic resources for food and agriculture; b) the right to equitably participate in sharing benefits arising from the utilisation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture; and c) the right to participate in making decisions, at the national level, on matters related to the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. The Treaty establishes the Multilateral System of Access and Benefit-sharing to facilitate plant germplasm exchanges and benefit sharing through Standard Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA).

However, as Regine Andersen of the farmers' rights project,[2] among others, including Olivier De Schutter, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food,[3] argue, the interpretation and realisation of farmers' rights is weak and is not the same across all countries. Without a consistent, strong international focus on the realising the rights of farmers who conserve and sustainably use PGRFA to save, use, exchange and sell seeds saved on-farm, genetic variety of crops and related agricultural biodiversity will suffer.[4] India, for example, includes an interpretation of farmers' rights in its Plant Variety Protection and Farmers' Rights Act, allowing farmers a restricted right to save and sell seed they have produced on-farm as they always have, even if it contains genes from a protected variety.,[5][6]

The treaty has implemented a Multilateral System (MLS) of access and benefit sharing, among those countries that ratify the treaty, for a list of 64 of some of the most important food and forage crops essential for food security and interdependence. The genera and species are listed in Annex 1 to the treaty.

The treaty was negotiated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA) and since 2006 has its own Governing Body under the aegis of the FAO. The Governing Body is the highest organ of the Treaty as established in Article 19. Composed of representatives of all Contracting Parties, its basic function is to promote the full implementation of the Treaty, including the provision of policy guidance on the implementation of the Treaty. The Governing Body elects its Chairperson and Vice-Chairpersons, in conformity with its Rules of Procedure. They are collectively referred to as "the Bureau".

Some believe the treaty could be an example of responsible global governance for ensuring that plant genetic resources essential for present and future food security can be kept accessible to all farmers and in the public domain. Chapter 7 of the Second Report on the State of the World's Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (SoWPGR-2)[7] entitled "Access to Plant Genetic Resources, the sharing of benefits arising out of their utilization and the realization of Farmers' Rights" is mainly dedicated to the International Treaty.

Sessions of the Governing Body

Negotiations and entry into force

The treaty was under negotiation for 7 years. A previous voluntary agreement, the International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (IU), was adopted in 1983. However, the IU was reliant on the principle of genetic resources being the common heritage of humanity.[18] The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) (1993) brought genetic resources under the jurisdiction and sovereignty of national governments. However, the CBD recognised the special and distinctive nature of agricultural genetic resources: they were international - crossing countries and continents - their conservation and sustainable use requires distinctive solutions and they were important internationally for food security. Subsequently the IU was renegotiated, to bring it in harmony with the CBD, and was renamed as a treaty. An account of the long process to achieve the treaty called Negotiating the Seed Treaty can be found at .

The treaty was approved during the FAO Conference (31st Session resolution 3/2001[19]) on 3 November 2001, with 116 votes and 2 abstentions (USA and Japan). In accordance with its Article 25, it was opened for signatures until 4 November 2002 by all members of FAO or any state member of the United Nations or of the International Atomic Energy Agency. It was subject to ratification, acceptance or approval (Article 26), by all members.

The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture was open to accession a year after adoption and once closed to signatures (Article 27), i.e., on 4 November 2002. 77 countries and the European Union had signed the treaty by that date.

In accordance with Article 28, the treaty entered into force on the ninetieth day after the deposit of the fortieth instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession, provided that at least twenty instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession have been deposited by Members of FAO. Having reached the required number of instruments in order for the treaty to enter into force (40) on 31 March 2004, on which date 13 instruments (including the European Union) were deposited with the Director-General of FAO, the date of entry into force was on 29 June 2004.

Discussion

Plant genetic resources are essential to a sustainable agriculture and food security. FAO estimates humans have used some 10 000 species for food throughout history. However, only about 120 cultivated species provide around 90% of food requirements and 4 species (Maize, Wheat, Rice and Potatoes) provide about 60% of human dietary energy for the world's population. Of the myriad of varieties of these crops developed by farmers over millennia, which form an important part of agricultural biodiversity, more than 75% have been lost in the past 100 years.

Some fear that corporate financial interests might prevent safeguarding of livelihoods, promotion of food security, biodiversity-rich farming under control of local communities, and implementation of Farmers' Rights.

Critics say many of the central issues are unresolved or open to interpretation. Some of the points raised are:

The treaty came into force on 29 June 2004 at which time there were more than 54 ratifications by countries. An article prepared on the occasion of the treaty becoming law is posted at . From the entry into force, countries that previously signed are allowed to ratify the treaty, while countries that did not sign the treaty before it came into force can also accede to it. The instrument of ratification has to be deposited with the Director-General of FAO.

Participating countries

There are 139 contracting parties to the Treaty (138 states and the European Union) as of July 2016.[20]

Parties: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Bhutan, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Republic of Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti*, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, European Union, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Kiribati*, Kuwait, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Moldova, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Niger, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Samoa, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Tanzania, Tonga, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Additional signatories to the Treaty: Argentina, Cape Verde, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Haiti, the Republic of Macedonia, Malta, Marshall Islands, Nigeria, Serbia, Thailand, United States of America.

List of crops covered in Annex 1

Even foods that have been part of a culture for centuries often are indigenous to a region on the other side of the world.[21] This global dispersal shows the generosity with which farmers and farming communities have always shared seeds and genetic materials with neighbors or through trade. As people ventured forth, looking for new lands, their seeds were part of their diasporas. As a result, we now live in a world in which not one country can be considered self-sufficient in terms of being able to survive solely on crops indigenous within its borders. The Treaty facilitates the continued open exchange of food crops and their genetic materials.[22]

The list of plant genetic material included in the Multilateral System of the Treaty is made of major food crops and forages. The Forages are also divided in legume forages and grass forages. They were selected taking into account the criteria of food security and country interdependence.[23]

See also

References

  1. ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/011/i0510e/i0510e.pdf
  2. http://www.farmersrights.org/
  3. http://www.srfood.org/images/stories/pdf/officialreports/20091021_report-ga64_seed-policies-and-the-right-to-food_en.pdf
  4. http://www.inwent.org/ez/articles/169196/index.en.shtml
  5. http://www.inwent.org/ez/articles/169296/index.en.shtml
  6. http://www.greenconserve.com/pdfs/2009_2010_annual%20report.pdf
  7. http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/i1500e/i1500e.pdf
  8. http://www.planttreaty.org/meetings/gb1_en.htm
  9. GB-1/06/REPORT, Report of the First Session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. ftp://ftp.fao.org/ag/agp/planttreaty/gb1/gb1repe.pdf
  10. http://www.planttreaty.org/meetings/gb2_en.htm
  11. GB-2/07/REPORT, Report of the Second Session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. ftp://ftp.fao.org/ag/agp/planttreaty/gb2/gb2repe.pdf
  12. http://www.planttreaty.org/meetings/gb3_en.htm
  13. GB-3/09/REPORT, Report of the Third Session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. ftp://ftp.fao.org/ag/agp/planttreaty/gb3/gb3repe.pdf
  14. http://www.itpgrfa.net/International/content/gb4
  15. http://www.itpgrfa.net/International/sites/default/files/Ministerial_Declaration_Bali.pdf
  16. http://www.planttreaty.org/content/gb5
  17. CSO summary of results of GB5 http://www.ukabc.org/gb5.htm
  18. Shawn N. Sullivan, 2004. Plant Genetic Resources and the Law: Past, Present, and Future. Plant Physiology May 2004 vol. 135 no. 1 10-15. http://www.plantphysiol.org/content/135/1/10.full#sec-2
  19. http://www.fao.org/docrep/meeting/004/Y2650e/Y2650e01.htm#3
  20. Treaty status, fao.org.
  21. Khoury, C.K.; Achicanoy, H.A.; Bjorkman, A.D.; Navarro-Racines, C.; Guarino, L.; Flores-Palacios, X.; Engels, J.M.M.; Wiersema, J.H.; Dempewolf, H.; Sotelo, S.; Ramírez-Villegas, J.; Castañeda-Álvarez, N.P.; Fowler, C.; Jarvis, A.; Rieseberg, L.H.; Struik, P.C. (2016). "Origins of food crops connect countries worldwide". Proc. R. Soc. B. 283 (1832): 20160792. doi:10.1098/rspb.2016.0792.
  22. ftp://ftp.fao.org/ag/agp/planttreaty/training/brochure07_en.pdf
  23. Ximena Flores Palacios, 1998. Contribution to the Estimation of Countries' Inter-dependence in the Area of Plant Genetic Resources. Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Background Study Paper no. 7, Rev.1, FAO. ftp://ftp.fao.org/ag/agp/planttreaty/gb1/bsp/bsp7e.pdf

Further reading

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