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Global Plan of Action 50.
Assessment: In the modern world and especially
in developing countries, people are threatened with and vulnerable
to natural disasters, civil strife and war. Such
calamities pose huge challenges to the resilience of agricultural
systems. Often,
adapted crop varieties are lost and cannot be recuperated
locally. Food
aid, combined with the importation of often poorly adapted
seed varieties, can lower yields and keep them low for years.
While
addressing the immediate crisis, such practices can exacerbate
hunger conditions, undermine food security and increase costs
of donor assistance well into the future. Indigenous
landraces/farmers' varieties lost during calamities can frequently
be found in ex situ collections outside the effected country.
Properly
multiplied, such stocks can be returned to reconstitute locally
adapted planting material, an essential component of sustainable
agricultural systems. Partnerships
are important in such efforts and can include government and
nongovernmental organizations. 51.
Longterm objectives: To support farmers' and
rural peoples' livelihoods and sustainable agriculture options
through the rehabilitation of agricultural systems based on
locally adapted plant genetic resources, including the restoration
of preexisting germplasm in cases of disasterinduced loss
of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. 52.
Intermediate objectives: To establish capacity
to deliver seed of adapted local varieties as needed to help
reestablish indigenous agricultural systems in areas affected
by natural disasters, war, and civil strife. 53.
To establish institutional responsibilities and mechanisms
for the identification, acquisition, multiplication, and reintroduction
of appropriate genetic materials. 54.
Policy/strategy: Governments with the cooperation
of relevant farmers' organizations and communities and UN
bodies and regional, intergovernmental and non governmental
organizations should establish necessary policies at all levels
which will allow unhindered implementation of seed security
activities in response to calamities. 55.
To minimize genetic loss, governments should ensure duplication
of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture outside
of the country, such as in genebanks of neighboring countries,
and/or regional or international genebanks and crop genebank
networks. Where
such ex situ collections do not exist outside the affected
country, support should be given to undertake emergency collections
of local varieties as soon as possible within the country,
so that they may be multiplied for immediate use and also
may be conserved in national and international ex situ collections
for future use. 56.
Capacity: FAO should establish agreements with
appropriate agencies, especially national and international
agricultural research institutions, for rapid acquisition
and multiplication, restoration and provision of materials
to countries in need. Such
institutes should endeavour to ensure that their capacity
is sufficient for the task. Cooperation
with nongovernmental and private organizations can be an
important component of efforts to distribute suitably adapted
germplasm into regions that are recovering from disasters.
57.
Adequate information systems must be established to identify
and track appropriate germplasm for reintroduction. 58.
Governments should consider making available adequate funds
to set in motion the multiplication of seed and to initiate
other related activities in response to emergencies, after
approaching existing international emergency funds to determine
if they could effectively plan ahead to cover action related
to the restoration of plant genetic resources for food and
agriculture after disaster situations. 59.
Governments should strengthen farmers' abilities to cope with
disasters by supporting the reemergence of local seed supply
networks. 60.
Research/technology: Previous experience should
be reviewed and options developed to enhance preparedness
for rescue of ex situ collections and emergency seed collecting
in the context of calamities, including war, civil strife,
industrial accidents, and natural disasters. These
efforts could benefit from close collaboration among governments
of countries affected, donor governments, nongovernmental
and private organizations, the national, regional and international
agricultural research centres, regional plant genetic resource
networks as well as relevant intergovernmental agencies such
as FAO, WFP, UNHCR and UNDRO. 61.
Coordination/administration: This programme
should be coordinated administratively by FAO in close collaboration
with WFP, UNHCR, UNDRO, IPGRI, national and the international
agricultural research centres, regional plant genetic resources
networks, governments of the countries affected, donor countries
and NGOs. 62.
Public awareness efforts are needed to sensitize the donor
community and NGOs to the importance of adapted plant genetic
resources for food and agriculture in relief and rehabilitation
efforts and to inform them of this programme. Such
efforts should also increase awareness of the need for safety
duplication of materials in other countries. 63.
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