To implement the sustainable use provisions of the International Treaty effectively, policies are needed to foster and promote the activities of farmers and local communities in the maintenance and diversification of PGRFA. Such activities not only provide fundamental services to humanity in the form of food and genetic resources, but also help people to achieve seed security, food and livelihood security, better nutrition and good health. Appropriate policies may, for example, support the certification and promote the marketing of farmers’ varieties, recognize Farmers’ Rights, support farmer innovation and local seed systems, and promote participatory approaches to breeding and crop improvement. For such policies to be effective, it is crucial that farmers and local communities are involved in decision-making processes during their development.

Seed policies are an important vehicle to help recognize and promote the role of farmers and local communities in the sustainable use of PGRFA. Seed policies are essential to provide farmers and other crop maintainers with access to quality seeds that are appropriate for their needs. In many countries, the main source of seeds is local seed systems, involving exchanges between individual farmers and households and within broader networks, as well as supply from local markets. Community seed banks also play an important role in such systems. Policies are therefore required to recognize and support these seed supply processes and facilities due to their fundamental role in providing food and economic security for millions of people worldwide. Many national seed policies currently recognize only formal or commercial seed systems, but some countries are reviewing and amending their policies to ensure that the rights of farmers and local communities to use self-saved and locally exchanged seeds are respected.

The development of policy for the conservation of biodiversity (including plant genetic resources) has a long history—but most significantly, the need to address biodiversity conservation was formally recognized through the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Since its inception in 1992, Contracting Parties of the CBD have developed National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) to implement its provisions. The focus of these NBSAPs has largely been on the establishment of protected areas for the conservation of important habitats and keystone or flagship species, as well as ex situ programmes for crop genetic resources and threatened species.

The main provision for conservation of PGRFA has historically been national gene bank facilities—however, the CBD and the International Treaty both emphasize the critical importance of in situ conservation, both of wild and cultivated PGRFA diversity. Therefore, the development and implementation of policy in support of in situ conservation and on-farm management is essential to meet the aims of both treaties. Achieving complementarity between in situ and ex situ approaches is paramount when developing such policies and adequate provisions for financing both measures are critical. 

Access to PGRFA, and the fair and equitable sharing benefits from their utilisation – access and benefit-sharing (ABS) – is one of the main objectives of the International Treaty, in harmony with the CBD. Through the Treaty’s Multilateral System (MLS), Contracting Parties agree to provide facilitated access to genetic resources of 64 crops that are crucial for food security worldwide, in order to facilitate research, innovation and the exchange of information. Benefit-sharing through the MLS comes in the form of both monetary and non-monetary benefits, such as information exchange, technology transfer and capacity-building. It is therefore vital that Contracting Parties have appropriate mechanisms in place to facilitate access to PGRFA material that are part of the MLS.

Other types of benefit-sharing may be implemented through voluntary initiatives involving private plant breeding companies, government agencies, national and international research institutes, NGOs and local farming communities. For example, actors involved in participatory plant breeding programmes benefit by sharing knowledge, skills and genetic resources. In other types of initiative, benefits may take the form of support for local sustainable development projects or capacity-building as well as knowledge and technology transfer.

The aims of the International Treaty with regard to the sustainable use of PGRFA are in harmony with a number of other international agreements, instruments and frameworks, including the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Second Global Plan of Action for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (Second GPA), and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Therefore, measures may be taken by countries to integrate such policies into existing national policy frameworks, thus synchronizing and strengthening countries’ actions for sustainable use of PGRFA.

For example, Aichi Biodiversity Target 13 of the CBD Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 aims to achieve the maintenance of local crop varieties in production systems, as well as underutilized species and crop wild relatives, including through increased recognition of the role of indigenous and local communities and farmers in maintaining genetic diversity in situ. Policy to support specific measures for the conservation and sustainable use of PGRFA may therefore be incorporated into revised NBSAPs to meet the objectives of Aichi Biodiversity Target 13, as well as the CBD Programme on Agricultural Biodiversity – in particular, the International Initiative on Biodiversity for Food and Nutrition.

Synergies between the aims of the International Treaty and the GPA are inherent, as the GPA is a supporting component of the Treaty, in accordance with Article 14 of the Treaty. GPA Priority Activities 8–12, which promote sustainable use and specifically advocate crop diversification and recognition of farmers’ varieties, are particularly relevant. Relationships are also inherent between the International Treaty and the SDGs – in particular, SDG 2, which aims to end hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture.