International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
"International Seed Treaty"
Wikipedia language: A comprehensive international agreement along 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)...
ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/011/i0510e/i0510e.pdf
http://www.fao.org/agriculture/crops/core-themes/theme/seeds-pgr/gpa/en/
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References/Resources
Genetic Imperialism? -- https://repository.library.georgetown.edu/handle/10822/552560
In the 1980s a wave of scientific breakthroughs changed the way the world grows its food. Buoyed by the emergence of genetically engineered strains of crops, farmers increased their outputs several-fold, providing food for millions of people across the world. These agricultural advances were achieved thanks to researchers in western laboratories using plant genetic resources, genetic material primarily collected from wild plants native to third world countries.
Although the world’s poor were among the foremost beneficiaries of new high-yield crops, many third world nations felt that the harvesting of genetic material by for-profit researchers from the developed world amounted to genetic imperialism. A group of these third world nations took their case to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, where they established the International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources.
This initiative, similar to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Moon Treaty, declared that certain resources are the common heritage of mankind, and as such should be exploited for the benefit of all people, not just for the countries that are economically or technically able to do so. The undertaking, as it became known, would have placed the world’s gene banks under the jurisdiction of the Food and Agriculture Organization, radically altering the way plant research and development was conducted.
The United States, a vanguard in the field of genetically engineered crops, opposed the undertaking. Who should control the world’s genetic resources, and how will international politics affect the development of biotechnology?
Host Peter Krogh sits down with Cary Fowler, Program Director of the Rural Advancement Fund, and Ambassador Alan Keyes, Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, to discuss the science and politics of biotechnology.
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Explanatory Guide to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture - See more at: https://islandpress.org/book/explanatory-guide-to-the-international-treaty-on-plant-genetic-resources-for-food-and-agriculture#sthash.NsPlMkmJ.dpuf
https://islandpress.org/books/publish/proposals.html?sort_by=field_title_sort_value&page=40
https://islandpress.org/books/food-agriculture?sort_by=field_pub_date_value&page=2
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PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES FOR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE -- http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/i1500e/i1500e.pdf
"Plant genetic resources for food and agriculture are playing an ever growing role on world food security and economic development. As an integral component of agricultural biodiversity, these resources are crucial for sustainable agricultural production intensification and ensure the livelihood of a large proportion of women and men who depend on agriculture.
In a world where around one billion people go hungry every day, with an expectation of a world population of nine billion by 2050, countries must make greater efforts to promote the conservation and sustainable use of the plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. Agriculture has a key role to play in reducing poverty and food insecurity in the world.
The effects of longstanding underinvestment in agriculture, food security and rural development, spikes in food prices and the global financial and economic crisis have led to increased hunger and poverty in many developing countries. In the 21st century agriculture faces a number of challenges. It has to produce more food and fibre to meet the demand of a growing world population, mainly living in urban areas, while relying on a decreasing rural labour force. It has to produce more feedstock for a potentially huge bio-energy market and to contribute to overall development in the many agriculture-dependent developing countries, while adopting more efficient and sustainable production methods.
Natural resources are also facing increasing pressure at the global, regional and local levels. In addition, climate change is threatening to increase the number of hungry people even further in the future, and creating new and difficult challenges for agriculture. While the effects of climate change are only beginning to be felt, there is general agreement that unless appropriate measures are taken, their future impact will be enormous. Plant genetic resources that are also threatened by it, are the raw materials to improve the capacity of crops to respond to climate change and must be protected. An enhanced use of plant genetic diversity is essential to address these and other future challenges.
The Second Report on the State of the World’s Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture provides a comprehensive picture of the global situation and trends regarding the conservation and use of plant genetic resources. The report was endorsed by the intergovernmental Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture in 2009 as the authoritative assessment of the sector and a basis for updating the Global Plan of Action for the Conservation and Sustainable Utilization of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture."