International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture | |
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Signed | 2001 |
Location | Rome[1] |
Effective | 29 June 2004 |
Parties | 151 contracting parties (150 states, 1 organization) as of 1 February 2024 |
Depositary | Secretary-General of the United Nations |
Languages | Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish |
Rights |
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Theoretical distinctions |
Human rights |
Rights by beneficiary |
Other groups of rights |
The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
Main features
Participating countries
There are 150 contracting parties to the Plant Treaty (149
Farmers' rights
The treaty 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).[citation needed]
However, as Regine Andersen of the farmers' rights project,
In 2019, the adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and other people working in rural areas reaffirmed the farmers' rights contained in the Plant Treaty.[citation needed]
Multilateral system
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.[citation needed]
The treaty was negotiated by the
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)[10] 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.[citation needed]
Governing Body
- The Governing Body met for the first time in Madrid in June 2006.[11] It had a ministerial segment and a ministerial declaration was adopted and included in the Report.[12]
- The Second Session of the Governing Body was held in Rome in October/November 2007.[13] This meeting discussed the implementation of Farmers' Rights, financial rules; the funding strategy, relationship with the Global Crop Diversity Trust; implementation of the Multilateral System (MLS) for access and benefit-sharing, among other issues.[14]
- The Third Session of the Governing Body was held in Tunis in June 2009.[15] This meeting continued the unfinished business of the previous meeting and discussed, among other issues, funding strategy, compliance, sustainable use, the implementation of Farmers' Rights, relationship with the Global Crop Diversity Trust and the CGRFA, implementation of the Multilateral System (MLS) for access and benefit-sharing.[16]
- The Fourth Session of the Governing Body was held in Bali, Indonesia in March 2011.Global Crop Diversity Trust and Bioversity Internationalwere also included in resolutions.
- The Fifth Session of the Governing Body was held in Muscat, Oman in September 2013.[19] The session was preceded by two days of regional consultations. The Fifth Session achieved:
- a resolution on Farmers' Rights (FRs), which renewed the commitment of governments to implement Farmers' Rights;
- a coded call to WIPOto report on their impacts on Farmers' Rights;
- warm acceptance of the offer by Farmers' Organisations to produce a report for GB6 on the state of implementation of Farmers' Rights;
- actions designed to improve the sustainable use of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, linked to commitments to realise Farmers' Rights;
- commitments to review and change the multi-lateral Access and Benefit Sharing mechanism (MLS), to prevent pillaging of the System by patents on native traits, for example;
- significant new voluntary financial contributions from Norway for the Global Crop Diversity Trust and for the benefit sharing fund to support on-farm conservation;
- acceptance of the distinction between NGOs and Farmers' Organisations and the need to include representatives of farmers' social movements in negotiations;
- a request to the Secretary to report on relevant discussions that relate to Farmers' Rights within other UN fora including the Committee on World Food Security. Civil Society including NGOs (e.g. CENESTA) and the International Farmers' Movement, La Via Campesina, were active throughout the Session.[20]
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. 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.[21]
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.[22]
History, negotiations, and entry into force
The treaty was under negotiation for 7 years. A previous voluntary agreement, the
The treaty was approved during the FAO Conference (31st Session resolution 3/2001
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.
Discussions and criticism
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 four 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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
Critics say many of the central issues are unresolved or open to interpretation. Some of the points raised are:
- to what extent will intellectual property rightsbe allowed on genetic resources in the MLS, within treaty rules: some argue an agreement aiming at open access to genetic resources for food and agriculture should not allow restrictive property rights, and the treaty says in Article 12.3.d that "Recipients shall not claim any intellectual property or other rights that limit the facilitated access to the plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, or their genetic parts or components, in the form received from the Multilateral System";
- to what extent will farmers and communities be allowed to freely use, exchange, sell and breed the seeds, and what enforcement procedures will be used by national governments to ensure principles of Farmers' Rights will be respected;
- The mechanism for dispute settlement under the Third Party Beneficiary and the role of FAO.
- The first group of 11 projects funded by the treaty was announced during the Third Session of the Governing Body in Tunis in June 2009. The projects were funded according to criteria established by the Governing Body including regional balance: 5 from Latin America, 5 from Africa and 1 from Asia. The ranking of the projects was done by a Group of Experts nominated by the 7 regional representatives of the Bureau and the final approval was done by the Bureau on behalf of the Governing Body.
- While the whole Brassica family (Cruciferae) including all its sub-species and varieties is in the MLS, the total number of food crops and forages and their relatives included in the treaty is very limited. Soya, sugar cane, oil palm and groundnut are among important crops missing from the list in Annex 1.
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 International Seed Treaty becomes Law - 29 June 2004. 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.
See also
- Biopiracy
- Seedbank
- Plant genetic resources
- Germplasm
- Genesys
- Convention on Biological Diversity
- Nagoya Protocol to the Convention on Biological Diversity
- UPOV Convention on New Varieties of Plants
- United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants
References
- ^ "UN treaties repository".
- ^ "International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
- ^ "Golay C. (2017), Research Brief: The Right to Seeds and Intellectual Property Rights" (PDF).
- ^ "Contracting Parties | International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved 12 February 2024.
- ^ "Farmers' Rights website".
- ^ "Seed policy and the right to food" (PDF). www.srfood.org. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- ^ Andersen, Regine (24 March 2010). "An issue of survival: Landraces' plant genetic resources are crucial to human survival". D+C. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
- ^ Suhai, Suman (29 March 2020). "The way it always was: India's law on plant variety protection and farmers' rights". D+C. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
- ^ "Women at the Centre of Biodiversity" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 July 2011. Retrieved 23 March 2011.
- ^ "The Second Report on the State of the World's Plant and Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture" (PDF). www.fao.org. 2010. Retrieved 12 July 2020.
- ^ "International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations". www.fao.org.
- ^ 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[permanent dead link]
- ^ "International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations".
- ^ 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[permanent dead link]
- ^ "International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations".
- ^ 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[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Fourth Session of the Governing Body | the International Treaty". Archived from the original on 22 February 2011. Retrieved 22 March 2011.
- ^ [1][permanent dead link]
- ^ "International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations".
- ^ CSO summary of results of GB5 http://www.ukabc.org/gb5.htm
- ^ https://web.archive.org/web/20170518163129/ftp://ftp.fao.org/ag/agp/planttreaty/training/brochure07_en.pdf[bare URL PDF]
- ^ 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[permanent dead link]
- ^ 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
- ^ "Fao – C 2001/report".
Further reading
- Moore, G.; Witold, T. (2003). The Explanatory Guide to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. The World Conservation Union (IUCN). IUCN Environmental Policy and Law Paper Number 57. 2005 (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 14 December 2021. 213 p.
- Fowler, C., Moore, G. and Hawtin, G. (2003). The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture: A Primer for the Future of CGIAR. SGRP (System-Wide Genetic Resources Programme), IPGRI (now Bioversity International). Rome, Italy. Archived from the original on 4 December 2007.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) 36 p. - Coupe, S.; Lewins, R. (2008). Negotiating the Seed Treaty (PDF). Practical Action Publishing, Rugby, UK. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 23 November 2007. 59 p.
- IT PGRFA Secretariat (2011). Introduction to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture: Module 1 (PDF). IT PGRFA Secretariat, FAO, Rome, Italy. 155 p.
External links
- Official text of the Plant Treaty
- www.planttreaty.com FAO's official website of the Plant Treaty
- Genetic Imperialism? from the Dean Peter Krogh Foreign Affairs Digital Archives
- https://web.archive.org/web/20110311020736/http://www.itpgrfa.net/ – Official website of the Treaty
- FAO: Leipzig Global Plan of Action (GPA)
- https://web.archive.org/web/20130721052109/http://globalplanofaction.org/ – Portal for PGRFA issues
- FAO: Second Report on the State of the World's PGRFA
- https://web.archive.org/web/20071226173200/http://www.croptrust.org/main/ – Global Crop Diversity Trust
- UK Agricultural Biodiversity Copendium: Civil Society pages on the International Treaty and its negotiation
- http://www.bioversityinternational.org – CGIAR's agricultural biodiversity research centre's pages on the Treaty