The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

After seven years of negotiations by the Commission, the FAO Conference adopted the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture in November 2001. The International Treaty entered into force in 2004, after being ratified by 40 governments, and has a total of 148 Contracting Parties as of 2021.

The International Treaty aims to guarantee sustainable agriculture and food security through conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGFRA) and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from their utilization. It also recognizes Farmers' Rights, subject to national laws, to a) the protection of traditional knowledge relevant to PGRFA, b) equitably participate in sharing benefits arising from the utilisation of PGRFA, and c) participate in making decisions, at the national level, on matters related to the conservation and sustainable use of PGRFA. It establishes the Multilateral System of Access and Benefit-sharing, which facilitates plant germplasm exchanges and benefit-sharing through the Standard Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA).

This legally binding treaty covers all plant genetic resources relevant to food and agriculture. It is in harmony with the Convention on Biological Diversity. Both instruments help to track the progress made in adopting national ABS frameworks and collaborate in the production of a joint ABS indicator in the context of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

No country is self-sufficient in plant genetic resources, and international cooperation and exchange of genetic resources are therefore of pivotal importance and necessary for food security. The International Treaty’s Multilateral System has facilitated access to key PGRFA and has supported more than 1.2 million farmers in developing countries through projects funded by its Benefit-sharing Fund.

The Commission and the Treaty’s Governing Body contribute in different, but mutually supportive, ways to the conservation and sustainable use of PGRFA. In 2009, the Commission adopted the Joint Statement of Intent for Cooperation with the Governing Body, and since then both bodies have adopted numerous decisions and resolutions reinforcing the importance of this collaboration.

The Secretariats of the Commission and the International Treaty have continued to collaborate and coordinate on a broad range of issues and activities of common interest, including the Third Report on the State of the World’s Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, the monitoring and implementation of the Second Global Plan of Action for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, and the establishment of connections between the Global Information System of the International Treaty and the World Information and Early Warning