08/09/2023

India to Host International Gathering

Rome, Italy, 08 September 2023 – The first Global Symposium on Farmers’ Rights will be held in New Delhi, India, from 12 – 15 September 2023.

“We are very grateful to the Government of India for hosting this first-of-a-kind global gathering on the important issue of Farmers’ Rights, and are looking forward to a meaningful exchange of experiences and lessons learned from around the world”  said Kent Nnadozie, Secretary of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

The 3-day Global Symposium, organized by the Secretariat of the International Treaty and hosted by the Government of India, will bring together international experts, farmers, policy-makers, civil society, inter-governmental and non-governmental agencies to share knowledge, policies and experiences on effective ways to make Farmers’ Rights (FRs) a reality, in accordance with Article 9 of the International Treaty.

“Farmers are the guardians of crops that form the basis of our food, a job they have been doing for millennia,” said Secretary Nnadozie of the International Treaty. “Protecting their rights over the seeds that they have developed, saved and cultivated is part and parcel of protecting the seeds that feed us all. The traditional knowledge that local and indigenous farmers have is invaluable, and should be protected, cherished and passed along to future generations.”

The International Treaty is the first legally-binding global instrument to explicitly acknowledge the enormous contributions of farmers and local and indigenous communities in managing the plants that feed the world. Article 9 of the International Treaty provides for promoting and protecting Farmers’ Rights relating to plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA). It calls on all nations to protect and promote the rights of smallholder farmers, particularly their rights to their seeds, and their involvement in relevant national decision-making, and to share in the benefits derived from the utilization of PGRFA. The responsibility to protect, promote and realize FRs rests with national governments, per Article 9.

“Farmers’ Rights are critical to ensuring the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, and consequently, for food security – today and in the future,” Secretary Nnadozie said.

The Global Symposium on Farmers’ Rights was requested by the Ninth Session of the Governing Body (GB-9) of the International Treaty, to share experiences and discuss possible future work on FRs. It is being organized by the International Treaty Secretariat and hosted by the Government of India at the Indian Centre for Agricultural Research (ICAR) Convention Centre in New Delhi, India. The Symposium will be conducted in English with simultaneous interpretation into Arabic, French, Spanish and Hindi. The Provisional Programme is available here.

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