FRENCH SEED SECTOR MAKES ANNUAL CONTRIBUTION TO BENEFIT-SHARING FUND
16/06/2020
Supporting projects in developing countries through the FAO International Treaty
ROME, Italy, 15 June 2020 – For the third consecutive year, the French seed sector, Groupement National Interprofessionnel des Semences et plants (GNIS) will make a contribution of Euro 175 000 to the Benefit-sharing Fund (BSF) of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.
“We are grateful to GNIS for their continued financial support to the International Treaty, and look forward to others doing the same,” said Kent Nnadozie, Secretary of the International Treaty. “It is thanks to the generous support of annual voluntary contributions such as the one made by GNIS that we are able to continue supporting projects under the Treaty’s Benefit-sharing Fund, which are so important for the future of global food security,” he said. “In times like these, when the world is facing the numerous consequences of the COVID-19 global pandemic, the need to support the efforts of the farmers who feed the world is even more critical.”
The decision of GNIS to make annual contributions was first announced in November 2017 in Kigali, Rwanda, during the Seventh Session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty. This year’s contribution will be the third payment of Euros 175 000 from GNIS into the Benefit-sharing Fund.
“These yearly contributions to the Treaty are a no brainer,” said François Desprez, Chairman of GNIS. “Facilitated access to genetic resources is crucial to all farmers and there is no genetic resources without conservation,” he said. “Today’s (COVID-19) crisis is highlighting the importance of varieties and seeds diversity to face the many challenges of our world. We are proud to modestly contribute to the Benefit-Sharing Fund and we hope to be joined by other stakeholders not only from the seed sector but also from the food industry.”
Since its establishment, 10 years ago, the BSF has supported 80 projects in 67 developing countries, reaching around 1 million small-scale farmers. It is currently in its fourth cycle. The Fund supports agricultural development projects focussing on the conservation and sustainable use of seeds and other plant genetic resources for food and agriculture in developing countries. These countries are often rich in agricultural biodiversity but lacking in the needed financial resources to help smallholder farmers to access, conserve and use crop diversity in their fields and withstand climate shocks, plant diseases and pests. The Fund focuses on increasing the resilience and livelihoods of smallholder farmers while increasing the saving and sharing of seeds of the plants that feed growing populations.
GNIS is the French inter-professional organisation for seeds and plants that gathers all the sector’s stakeholders including farmers. GNIS facilitates discussions, exchanges, and decision-making. GNIS has also a delegation of the public mission on seeds certification. In addition to its leadership in the EU, France also has a major global presence as an exporter to 150 countries across five continents.
France has been a Contracting Party of the International Treaty since 2005.
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