‘Southern Cone’ Ministers Declare Renewed Commitment to International Treaty and Agricultural Biodiversity
02/10/2018
Argentina, 28 September 2018 – The Agriculture Ministers of the five nations comprising the ‘Southern Cone’ of Latin America – Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay – signed a Ministerial Declaration reaffirming their commitment to the FAO International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and to conserving agricultural biodiversity in their region.
The Ministerial Declaration recognizes the crucial legal framework provided by the FAO International Treaty for international access and use of agricultural biodiversity.
“Every nation can and should benefit from the multilateral mechanisms of the International Treaty that facilitate the exchange of seeds and participation in the distribution of benefits,” said Kent Nnadozie, Secretary of the FAO International Treaty. “We welcome this Ministerial Declaration, and hope that it will encourage those Latin American countries that have not yet joined our global community to do so.”
The Ministerial Declaration was signed in Buenos Aires, Argentina on the second day of the 36th regular meeting of the Agricultural Council of the Southern Cone, placing food security and crop conservation at the center of the discussions. The following Ministers of Agriculture participated in the signing ceremony: H.E. Luis Miguel Etchevehere for Argentina, H.E. Blairo Maggi for Brazil, H.E. Antonio Walker for Chile, H.E. Denis Lichi for Paraguay, and Enzo Benech for Uruguay.
“This political declaration highlights the importance of the International Treaty in conserving, sharing and sustainably using the world’s vital plant genetic resources,” said Secretary Nnadozie.
“The International Treaty has made such a positive impact on the lives of people in relation to the protection of agro-biodiversity, and enhancing food and nutrition security,” he explained. “In the last decade alone, the International Treaty has helped plant breeders, farmers and research access over 4.5 million crop material from around the world, in addition to positively impacting the lives of 1 million people in 45 countries through projects supported by our Benefit-sharing Fund.”
The Southern Cone countries are among the world’s largest net food exporters and have an increasingly important role in the global agricultural trading system. With the membership of Chile and Argentina a year ago, all the countries of the Southern Cone are now members of the International Treaty, which currently comprises 144 members (“Contracting Parties”), globally.