International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

Farmers' Rights

Actions and initiatives by the Governing Body on Farmers’ Rights

In recent years, there has been growing awareness of the importance of implementing Farmers’ Rights, and this issue has been addressed at every session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty. For an overview of historical developments and discussions on Farmers’ Rights, please click here.

In 2017, at its Seventh Session, the Governing Body decided to establish the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Farmers' Rights (AHTEG or Expert Group). The Expert Group was mandated to “produce an inventory of national measures that may be adopted, best practices and lessons learned from the realization of Farmers’ Rights”, and “based on the inventory, to develop options for encouraging, guiding and promoting the realization of Farmers’ Rights as set out in Article 9 of the International Treaty”.

The establishment of the AHTEG represented a milestone in discussions on Farmers’ Rights in Governing Body sessions, underscoring the importance that the Governing Body attaches to supporting and facilitating the implementation of Article 9, and to providing advice to Contracting Parties with regard to the process and practical options for implementation.

In 2019, at its Eighth Session, the Governing Body welcomed the Inventory of national measures, best practices and lessons learned from the realization of Farmers’ Rights, as set out in Article 9 of the International Treaty (Inventory), as produced by the Expert Group with the support of the Secretariat of the International Treaty.

The Inventory contains a wide range of measures and practices for the realization of Farmers’ Rights. The Inventory is structured in a simple, user-friendly manner, and is designed to be a ‘rolling document’.

To see the latest recommendations and decisions of the Governing Body on the implementation of Farmers’ Rights, please click here.

Share this page