• Please check the eligibility and screening criteria to make sure that your intended project is eligible for funding from the Fifth Cycle of the Benefit-sharing Fund.
• Download the format for the ‘Submission form for pre-proposals’ and insert the responses according to the guidance provided in the document with ‘guidelines for the development of pre-proposals’.
• Submit your pre-proposal through the recognized authorities of an eligible Contracting Party of the Treaty, which are the National Focal Points or the Permanent Representatives to FAO.
• All applications must be submitted using the format of the Submission Form for pre-proposals. Pre-proposals may be submitted in any of the Treaty languages, plus, where necessary, a translation to a working language (English, French, Spanish), as stipulated by the Operational Procedures adopted by the Governing Body.
• Applications must be sent by the national authorities of eligible Contracting Parties to the Secretariat of the Treaty at [email protected] or by fax (39) 065705634.

The programme will support single country and multi-country projects, that align with the overall objective of the Fund. The duration of all projects is expected to be between 18 months and 4 years.

The awarded projects will demonstrate the benefits that plant genetic resources bring to farmers, with a special emphasis on support to on-farm and in situ management, farmer-to-farmer exchanges, local seed value chains, and a better flow of plant genetic resources from ex-situ collections to farmers and back.

The amount of funding available for grants for the Fifth Call for Proposals is expected to be at least USD 7 million.

70% of the available funding will be reserved for the general Call for Proposals, including those projects issued with a Certificate of Excellence in previous rounds, and a maximum of 30% of funding would be available for second phases of BSF-3 projects.

Applicants preparing single-country projects are requested to submit pre-proposals for funding up to USD 250,000 and those aiming to prepare multi-country projects are requested to submit pre-proposals for funding up to USD 600,000.

Any governmental or non-governmental organization, including farmers and farmers’ organizations, genebanks and research institutions, as well as regional and international organizations, based in countries that are Contracting Parties to the Treaty, may apply for grants under the Benefit-sharing Fund. Applicants must meet the eligibility criteria established by the Governing Body and listed in Appendix 1 of the Fifth Call for Proposals

In order to be eligible to apply for funding under BSF-5, project pre-proposals must:

• Contribute to the objectives of the International Treaty;
• Fall within the priorities established by the Governing Body;
• Benefit Contracting Parties that are developing countries;
• Be presented through the Contracting Party or Parties concerned;
• Be submitted on or before the deadline set for submissions;
• Adhere to the guidelines for submission.

Pre-proposals that meet the eligibility criteria will be screened by an Independent Panel of Experts against the screening criteria for pre-proposals

Single country and multi-country pre-proposals are not mutually exclusive. One country may submit different pre-proposals for both single country and multi-country projects

Pre-proposals submitted to previous Calls for Proposals will not automatically be part of the Fifth Call for Proposals. However, those applicants are welcome to submit a pre-proposal using the submissions form available in Appendix 5 of the Fifth Call for Proposals. Projects that received a Certificate of Excellence in BSF-4 and BSF-3 projects that consider developing a second-phase proposal, are encouraged to apply.

According to the Operations Manual: Benefit-sharing Fund the Standing Committee on the Funding Strategy and Resource Mobilization (the Funding Committee) is responsible for the final approval of projects to be funded in each project cycle of the Benefit-sharing Fund, on the basis of preparatory work done by the Independent Panel of Experts.

Successful applicants will enter a full project design phase of approximately three months. During this period, applicants produce a full project proposal that details the objectives and scope of activities, outputs and related target indicators, baseline data and a budget and will further include specific plans for communication and dissemination of project results, monitoring, gender inclusiveness, institutional and knowledge management and a sustainability and exit strategies.

After the announcement of projects to be funded, a project agreement in the form of a Letter of Agreement will signed with each applicant institution.

The FAO template for Letters of Agreement consists of an introductory part where general terms and conditions are established, a reporting and monitoring schedule which is linked to funds’ disbursements and an Annex that contains the project proposal documents.

In addition to the general provisions of the FAO template, Letters of Agreement contain additional provisions that are specifically tailored to the Benefit-sharing Fund. These specific provisions include the agreement (a) to make all plant genetic resources for food and agriculture listed in Annex I of the Treaty that are within the scope of the project available according to the terms and conditions of the Multilateral System of Access and Benefit-sharing; and (b) to make all information generated by the project publicly available within one year from the date of completion of the project.

The grants will be disbursed in tranche payments. The first payment will be made upon receipt by the Secretary of the counter signed project agreement. Subsequent disbursements are conditional on receipt and approval by the Secretary of the interim progress and financial reports.

A Helpdesk function is available to support applicants to the Fifth Call for Proposals.

Specifically, the Helpdesk will:

• Provide technical assistance by email regarding the preparation of pre-proposals and full proposals, in Arabic, English, French and Spanish.
• Conduct support workshops focusing on the preparation of full project proposals, for applicants invited to prepare full proposals from regions and Contracting Parties that have so far been under-represented among the recipients of support from the Benefit-sharing Fund. 

The Helpdesk can be contacted by e-mail at [email protected]