31/07/2015

The users of the Multilateral System and the Standard Material Transfer agreement can now consult online in one single booklet all the opinions and the advice provided by the Ad Hoc Technical Advisory Committee on the Multilateral System and the Standard Material Transfer Agreement.

Following the decisions of the Governing Body at its Fifth Session, the Secretariat has compiled and published online a booklet with the all opinions and the advice of the Committee as useful guidance to Contracting Parties in implementing their obligations under the Treaty. 

“This Committee held four sessions from January 2010 to April 2013 and discussed several important aspects of the implementation, such as the identification of Plant Genetic resources for Food and Agriculture under the control of the Contracting Parties and in the public domain and access to material in in situ conditions”, said Shakeel Bhatti, Secretary of the International Treaty.

The publication also contains opinions related to legal and administrative measures to encourage natural and legal persons to voluntarily place material in the Multilateral System, restoration of material and transfer to farmers for direct use for cultivation.

The new booklet, which will be released during 2015 in all the official languages of the Treaty, also provides the summaries of the major decisions adopted at each meeting and an index of popular topics to simplify its use by users and practitioners. 

The publication is online at: Opinions and Advice