22/07/2021

Sharing & Taking Care of the Source of Our Food

Florence, Italy, 07 July 2021 – Villa Bardini was the venue for the first Italian ‘Summer School’ dedicated entirely to the implementation of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. This first-of-its-kind progamme attracted national participants from the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, civil society organizations, farmers’ organizations, public research institutions and other regional institutes, to discuss how best to further the sustainable use and conservation of agro-biodiversity through the multilateral access to plant genetic resources for food and agriculture and other mechanisms provided by the International Treaty.

“The FAO International Treaty is the main international agreement fostering the conservation and sustainable use of agro-biodiversity, something that is particularly important in Italy, which is renowned for its rich array of vegetables, fruits and its gastronomy, much of which starts with the seed,” said Kent Nnadozie, Secretary of the International Treaty during his opening remarks. “We are grateful to Italy for being a staunch supporter of the International Treaty and for providing continued financial support to ensure the implementation of the International Treaty, not just in Italy, but also globally,” he added.

The 3-day course was organized by Rete Semi Rurali, in collaboration with the Italian Ministry of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies, the Secretariat of the International Treaty, and the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT. The idea for the Summer School started in 2019, during the annual meeting between the Italian Government, national civil society organizations, research centers, other interested stakeholders and the Secretariat of the International Treaty.

As a demonstration of its commitment at the time of joining the International Treaty, Italy adopted legislation ensuring continued financial support for the implementation of the Treaty. This has resulted in 13 annual contributions to the Benefit-sharing Fund of the International Treaty, averaging over USD 600 000 each.

The ‘Summer School’ on the International Treaty provided various Italian governmental and non-governmental stakeholders the opportunity to learn first-hand about the main mechanisms of the International Treaty, covering normative, technological and field perspectives. The curriculum spanned from on-farm field activities to advanced information systems for germplasm management and national policy development.

“The summer school highlighted how central the international instrument of the FAO Treaty is to promoting and encouraging the conservation and sustainable use of agrobiodiversity in a European country like Italy,” said Riccardo Bocci, Managing Director of Rete Semi Rurali. “The fruitful discussion between participants and experts allowed an exchange of experiences between social realities and public institutions in an environment of mutual support,” he said.

Discussions over the three days from 05 July to 07 July 2021 included supporting farmers by facilitating their access to ex situ and in situ plant genetic material, improving the sustainable use of agrobiodiversity, Farmers' Rights, and the management of information related to genetic resources.

#ItAllStartsWithTheSeed #Italy #PlantGeneticResources #Food

 @PlantTreaty