12/09/2023

President of India Inaugurates Global Symposium 

New Delhi, India, 12 September 2023 – The first-ever Global Symposium on Farmers' Rights under the International Treaty of the FAO was inaugurated by the Honourable President of India, Ms Droupadi Murmu, in New Delhi today,  amidst an audience of over 700 people from 52 countries, marking a crucial milestone in the global agricultural landscape. The event, organized by FAO’s Secretariat of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare of India, and in collaboration with Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPVFR) Authority, and Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) from 12 – 15 September in New Delhi, India

President Murmu  emphasized the significance of prioritizing farmers' rights as a collective commitment to humanity. “This Symposium…provides a golden opportunity to the world fraternity to realign their priorities and programmes according to the needs of humanity and to make a common commitment for fulfilment of farmers' rights the world over,” President Murmu said.

President Murmu brought attention to India’s diverse landscape, which accounts for 7-8 percent of all recorded species of plants and animals with only 2.4 percent of the world’s land area. She focussed on the vital role being played by the Indian farmers through centuries in protecting and conserving the agro-biodiversity of the country and conserving local varieties of plants, domesticated wild plants paving the way for different crop breeding programmes. “There are about forty-five thousand [45,000] species of plants, which is about 7 percent of the world's total. In terms of biodiversity, India ranks as one of nations endowed with widest range of plants and species,” she said.

The Symposium brought together policymakers, farmers, non-governments organizations and inter-governmental organizations from around the world. A number of dignitaries from the international agricultural community also participated, including the Indian Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar; Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Kailash Choudhary; FAO Representative in India, Takayuki Hagewara; the Secretary of the International Treaty, Kent Nnadozie; and a number of senior Indian government officials.

The inaugural ceremony included the presentation of ‘Indian Genome Saviour and Community Awards’ by President Murmu to a number of farmers for their achievements in the development and conservation of crop diversity, acknowledging the exemplary contributions of various Indian farmers/farmer communities.

The Symposium commenced with a Plenary Lecture delivered by Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, setting the tone for the discussions to follow. Over the course of the proceedings, the Symposium delved into the Options for Realizing Farmers’ Rights, as outlined in Article 9 of the International Treaty^[1], including an exchange of experiences and best practices from diverse global perspectives, including India, Nepal, Jordan, Zambia, Italy, and commentary by the private seed sector.

The Symposium is expected to be a pivotal forum for fostering global consensus on realizing Farmers' Rights, safeguarding traditional knowledge, and championing the central role of farmers in ensuring food security for all.

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 Farmers’ Rights.

The full Programme for the Global Symposium is available here.

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