International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
Encyclopedia
The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (IT PGRFA), 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: to freely access genetic resources, unrestricted by intellectual property rights; to be involved in relevant policy discussions and decision making; and to use, save, sell and exchange seeds, subject to national laws.
However, as Regine Anderson of the farmers' rights project, among others, including Olivier De Schutter
, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, 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. 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.,
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) 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.
or International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, was adopted in 1983. However, the IU was reliant on the principle of genetic resources being the common heritage of humanity. 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 http://practicalaction.org/docs/advocacy/negotiatingseedtreatycoupe.pdf.
The treaty was approved during the FAO Conference (31st Session resolution 3/2001) 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.
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 http://www.ukabc.org/itpgrfa29june2004.htm. 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.
Parties: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Bhutan, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, 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, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Kiribati*, Kuwait, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic*, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Niger, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Samoa, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe. [TOTAL 127]
Additional signatories to the Treaty: Argentina, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Malta, Marshall Islands*, Nigeria, Serbia, Swaziland, Thailand, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, United States of America. [TOTAL 14]
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.
Convention on Biological Diversity
The Convention on Biological Diversity , known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is an international legally binding treaty...
, which aims at guaranteeing food security
Food security
Food security refers to the availability of food and one's access to it. A household is considered food-secure when its occupants do not live in hunger or fear of starvation. According to the World Resources Institute, global per capita food production has been increasing substantially for the past...
through the conservation
Conservation ethic
Conservation is an ethic of resource use, allocation, and protection. Its primary focus is upon maintaining the health of the natural world: its, fisheries, habitats, and biological diversity. Secondary focus is on materials conservation and energy conservation, which are seen as important to...
, exchange and sustainable use of the world's plant genetic
Plant genetics
Plant genetics is a very broad term. There are many facets of genetics in general, and of course there are many facets to plants.The definition of genetics is the branch of biology that deals with heredity, especially the mechanisms of hereditary transmission and the variation of inherited...
resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA), as well as the fair and equitable benefit sharing arising from its use. It also recognises Farmers' Rights: to freely access genetic resources, unrestricted by intellectual property rights; to be involved in relevant policy discussions and decision making; and to use, save, sell and exchange seeds, subject to national laws.
However, as Regine Anderson of the farmers' rights project, among others, including Olivier De Schutter
Olivier De Schutter
Olivier De Schutter is a legal academic and human rights expert. A Harvard graduate now resident in Belgium, he was appointed UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food by the Human Rights Council in March 2008 and assumed his functions on 1 May 2008...
, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, 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
Agricultural biodiversity
Agricultural biodiversity is a sub-set of general biodiversity. It includes all forms of life directly relevant to agriculture: rare seed varieties and animal breeds , but also many other organisms such as soil fauna, weeds, pests, predators, and all of the native plants and animals existing on...
will suffer. 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.,
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
Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
The Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture is an intergovernmental forum established in FAO in 1983 to deal with issues related to plant genetic resources...
(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) 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
- The Governing Body met for the first time in Madrid in June 2006. It had a ministerial segment and a ministerial declaration was adopted and included in the Report.
- The Second Session of the Governing Body was held in Rome in October/November 2007. 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.
- The Third Session of the Governing Body was held in Tunis in June 2009. 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.
- The Fourth Session of the Governing Body was held in Bali, Indonesia in March 2011. Prior to the Governing Body meeting, Ministers adopted the Bali Declaration on the Treaty that commits them to engage in further enhancing Treaty implementation to help meet the challenges of agricultural biodiversity erosion, food insecurity, extreme poverty and the effects of climate change; and calls upon parties and relevant stakeholders to prioritize activities relevant to the MLS, sustainable use of PGRFA, and Farmers’ Rights, and to mobilize more funds. With the addition of 'compliance' mechanisms and financial rules, these issues took up most negotiating time in the Governing Body meeting. The relationship of the Treaty with the CGRFA, the CBD's Nagoya Protocol, the Global Crop Diversity TrustGlobal Crop Diversity TrustGlobal Crop Diversity Trust is an independent international organization which exists to ensure the conservation and availability of crop diversity for food security worldwide...
and Bioversity InternationalBioversity InternationalBioversity International is one of 15 agricultural research centres supported by the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research . It is dedicated to the conservation and use of agricultural biodiversity to improve the livelihoods of poor people. The organization is highly...
were also included in resolutions. Civil Society and especially the International Farmers' Movement, La Via Campesina, played an active role in ensuring a successful outcome.
Negotiations and entry into force
The treaty was under negotiation for 7 years. A previous voluntary agreement, the IUIU
IU may mean:Universities*Indiana University, a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States*a misnomer for IUP, Indiana University of Pennsylvania...
or International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, was adopted in 1983. However, the IU was reliant on the principle of genetic resources being the common heritage of humanity. The Convention on Biological Diversity
Convention on Biological Diversity
The Convention on Biological Diversity , known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is an international legally binding treaty...
(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 http://practicalaction.org/docs/advocacy/negotiatingseedtreatycoupe.pdf.
The treaty was approved during the FAO Conference (31st Session resolution 3/2001) 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
Fão
Fão is a town in Esposende Municipality in Portugal....
or any state member of the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
or of the International Atomic Energy Agency
International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency is an international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July 1957...
. 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 agricultureSustainable agriculture
Sustainable agriculture is the practice of farming using principles of ecology, the study of relationships between organisms and their environment...
and food security
Food security
Food security refers to the availability of food and one's access to it. A household is considered food-secure when its occupants do not live in hunger or fear of starvation. According to the World Resources Institute, global per capita food production has been increasing substantially for the past...
. 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
Agricultural biodiversity
Agricultural biodiversity is a sub-set of general biodiversity. It includes all forms of life directly relevant to agriculture: rare seed varieties and animal breeds , but also many other organisms such as soil fauna, weeds, pests, predators, and all of the native plants and animals existing on...
, 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:
- to what extent will intellectual property rights be 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 seedSeedA seed is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s, 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 http://www.ukabc.org/itpgrfa29june2004.htm. 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 127 contracting parties to the Treaty (126 countries and the European Union) as of 24 October 2010.Parties: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Bhutan, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, 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, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Islamic Republic of Iran, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Kiribati*, Kuwait, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic*, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Montenegro, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Niger, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Rwanda, Saint Lucia, Samoa, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sudan, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe. [TOTAL 127]
Additional signatories to the Treaty: Argentina, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Malta, Marshall Islands*, Nigeria, Serbia, Swaziland, Thailand, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, United States of America. [TOTAL 14]
- * The countries written in the above lists in italics and marked with an asterisk are not Members of the CGRFA.
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.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.
External links
- [ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/011/i0510e/i0510e.pdf Official text of the Treaty]
- http://www.itpgrfa.net - Official website of the Treaty
- http://www.fao.org/agriculture/crops/core-themes/theme/seeds-pgr/sow/global-plan-of-action/en/ - Leipzig Global Plan of Action (GPA)
- http://www.globalplanofaction.org - Portal for PGRFA issues
- http://www.fao.org/agriculture/crops/core-themes/theme/seeds-pgr/sow/sow2/en/ - Second Report on the State of the World's PGRFA
- http://www.croptrust.org/main/ - Global Crop Diversity Trust
- http://www.ukabc.org/iu2.htm - 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