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Inputs by the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture promotes and facilitates the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA) and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of their use for sustainable agriculture and food security, in harmony with the Convention on Biological Diversity.
It is an FAO legally binding international agreement that deals with the management of PGRFA and its Governing Body provides policy guidance to achieve its full implementation through an effective and functioning framework. As of February 2020, the Treaty has 146 Contracting Parties.
Conservation and sustainable use of PGRFA are essential to achieving sustainable agriculture and food security, for present and future generations, indispensable for crop genetic improvement to adapting to unpredictable environmental changes and human needs. Because countries are interdependent in their reliance on PGRFA and the management of PGRFA is at the meeting point between agriculture, the environment and commerce, the International Treaty has established a multilateral system that facilitates continuous exchange of PGRFA (Multilateral System of Access and Benefit-sharing).
Through Resolution 1/2017, the Governing Body of the Treaty emphasized that the effective implementation of the International Treaty contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals, in particular SDG Targets 2.5 and 15.6, relating to conservation, and access and benefit-sharing of genetic resources, while also contributing indirectly to SDGs 1, 12, 13 and 17.
