24-Sep-2022: Ninth Session of Governing Body of the ITPGRFA concludes

The Ninth Session of the Governing Body (GB9) of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) concluded in New Delhi today.

The six-day GB9 session of ITPGRFA was inaugurated by the Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar in New Delhi on September 19, 2022. More than 400 eminent scientists and resource persons from 150 member-countries participated in the deliberation during the 9th session of GB.

First contribution towards Benefit Sharing Fund of Treaty from India: In a historical first, Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII) contributed Rs 20 lakhs (~USD 25,000) to the Benefit-Sharing Fund (BSF) as the first collective contribution from Indian seed sector, during the GB-9 meetings.  The BSF is the funding mechanism of the Treaty used for support of capacity building, Conservation and sustainable use projects among the Contracting Parties of the Treaty.

India appointed as Co-Chair of the Working Group on Enhancement of MLS: Dr Sunil Archak, ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, India, was appointed as Co-Chair, along with Dr Michael Ryan, Department of Agriculture, Canberra, Australia, on the Working Group on ‘Enhancement of the Multilateral System (MLS)’. A fully functional user-friendly and simple MLS is crucial for the success of the ITPGFRA. Elements of enhancement would include measures for increased benefit sharing mechanism, expansion of crops and accessions available through the MLS, while also taking into cognizance changes in scientific, technical and policy environment globally.

Consensus on implementation of Farmers Rights reached after extensive negotiations at GB9: Based on meetings in the last five years of Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group (AHTEG) on Farmers’ Rights (FRs), Co-Chaired by Dr R.C. Agrawal (India) and Ms. Svanhild Isabelle Batta Torheim (Norway), and the working group/plenary deliberations during the GB9 meeting, a resolution on implementation of Farmers Rights under Article 9 was finally agreed upon ensuring equilibrium and justice.

The Co-chairs acknowledged the contributions of the experts, stakeholders and delegates of the GB9 to arrive at the resolution which was difficult, but achieved, nonetheless. The GB called upon the Contracting Parties to update inventory of national measures, best practices and lessons learnt for national implementation of Farmers’ Rights under the Treaty, as per the national legislation. Further, the Treaty Secretariat was requested to publish the options for realization of Farmers’ Rights, including Option Category 10 (legal measures for the implementation of the Farmers’ Rights), which was noted as Co-Chairs proposal, based on India’s experience under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPV&FR) Act, 2001 where FRs are well balanced with Plant Breeders Rights were included in the resolution as the Co-Chairs. The GB9 also called upon the Treaty Secretariat to include in its multi-year programme of work (MYPOW) for possible impact of digital sequence information (DSI) on Farmers’ Rights.

The GB9 welcomed the offer of Government of India to host a global symposium on Farmers’ Rights to share experiences and discuss future work on Farmers’ Rights and also for the assessment of the Implementation of the Farmers’ Rights as per the Treaty Article 9 in various countries which are Contracting Parties.

India flags issue regarding gene bank funding: In a major breakthrough in the GB9 of ITPGRFA, Contracting Parties acknowledged the intervention made by India, and supported by many African nations, regarding effect due to institutional reform within the CGAIR system on funding of gene banks globally, and CIFOR-ICRAF and ICRISAT in particular. GB emphasised the need to ensure the long-term safety of the Article 15 IARC gene banks and the distribution of germplasm held ‘in trust’ by the CGIAR centres and other Article 15 gene banks, and for long-term solutions by strengthening the Treaty and the Crop Trust mechanism.

22-Sep-2022: On 3rd day of ITPGRFA, GB9 holds deliberations on three most significant issues of Plant Treaty 

On 3rd day of the 9th Session of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), GB9 held deliberations on following most significant issues of Plant Treaty.

1. India pushes for focus on communities, farmer-conservers and women as “Guardians of Crop Diversity”: The GB9 finalized a resolution on “Celebrating the Guardians of Crop Diversity” to recognize the role of communities, farmer-conservers and women as “Guardians of Crop Diversity” in conservation and continued availability of crop diversity.
2. India assumes leadership role to steer consultation on enhancement of MLS: The GB-9 established a ‘Contact Group’ to guide a draft process for re-starting the negotiations which broke down during the GB-8 on package of measures to enhance the functioning of the MLS of Plant Treaty. Delegates of GB-9 held the first informal meeting of the Contact Group to take the agenda forward in the plenary discussion.
3. India draws attention of GB-9 to funding status of ICRISAT: ICRISAT is not part of ‘one-CGIAR’ but continues to be a CGAIR Genebank as defined by Article 15 of the Treaty. India demanded that GB-9 deliberate on the issue of continued funding of ICRISAT Genebank.
4. India demands deliberations on Digital Sequence Information in Plant Treaty independent of CBD:

Under Agenda 17 for consideration of Digital Sequence Information (DSI) discussed in the GB9 (Ninth Governing Body) Meeting, India endorsed the need for continuation of technical deliberations to provide clarity of definition, scope, jurisdiction, nature of implementation and access and benefit sharing mechanisms for fulfilling the objectives of ITPGRFA.

DSI has been a difficult issue to resolve in all international fora. Since ITPGRFA deliberations are relatively ahead in content and practical in nature, India argued that DSI issue should be resolved without compromising on the discussions on multilateral system enhancement.

India further reiterated that ITPGRFA should not wait for Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) to resolve DSI issue, since ITPGRFA deliberations are relatively ahead in content, delineated in scope and easy to implement.

21-Sep-2022: India leads deliberations on second day of the Governing Body meeting of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

1. India leads creation of option for implementation of Farmers Rights (FR): Second day of GB9 deliberated on two most significant issues of Plant Treaty. Due to incessant efforts of India, an expert group on FR was constituted in 2017 and India led in the group as Co-chair. India ensured discussion of the group even during pandemic and prepared a set of options and future process for implementing FR in any country.
2. India leads revival of enhancement of multilateral system: From 2019, all formal meetings were suspended.  India along with Switzerland organized an informal meeting at UN-Geneva and prepared a based document for GB9 to deliberate.  As a result, a Contact Group is constituted under the co-chairmanship of India to decide the future process.
3. More than 60 delegates visited India’s National Genebank located at National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) in Pusa Campus, New Delhi.: Delegates of Norway, Serbia and Zimbabwe interacted with Director, NBPGR and expressed their happiness after seeing the second largest Genebank of the world.
4. India calls for capacity building to use the Global Information System (GLIS): On the second day of the ninth session of the Governing Body meeting (GB9) of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), progress of the GLIS on PGRFA was deliberated during the late evening session. India, as member of the Scientific Advisory Committee, proposed that use of GLIS needs capacity building among Contracting Parties.
5. India calls for continued efforts towards Conservation and Sustainable Use of PGRFA: New tool box and background studies were appreciated by GB9. India, as member of Committee on Conservation and Sustainable Use, proposed joint programs with international and regional organizations/institutes to fulfil this agenda.

19-Sep-2022: Shri Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurates the 9th Session of Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar has said that plant genetic resources are the source of solution to the breeding challenges. Plant genetic resources are also vulnerable due to habitat destruction and climate change. Their protection is a "shared responsibility of humanity". We must use all modern technologies as well as traditional knowledge to preserve and use them in a sustainable manner.

Shri Tomar said this while inaugurating the Ninth Session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) in New Delhi today. The ITPGRFA is a legally binding comprehensive agreement signed during the 31st session of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome in November, 2001, which took effect on 29 June 2004, and currently has 149 Contracting Parties including India. This treaty, in consonance with the Convention on Biological Diversity, seeks to achieve food security through the conservation, exchange and sustainable use of the world's Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA), equitable sharing of profits from its use, as well as playing an important role in the recognition of rights of farmers. PGRFA provides scale-free solutions to achieve food and nutritional security as well as climate resilient agriculture. Countries are mutually interdependent for the PGRFA, leading to the need for a global system to facilitate access and profit sharing. GB9 is being organized under the theme "Celebrating the Guardians of Crop Diversity: Towards an Inclusive Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework". The theme aims to highlight the contribution of the world's small farmers to the effective management of PGRFA and provide an opportunity to consider how the treaty and its community can contribute to the new global biodiversity architecture.

In the inaugural session, Shri Tomar said that the aim of the Plant Treaty is to recognize the contribution of farmers and local communities to the diversity of crops. Over the centuries, tribal and traditional farming communities have continuously shaped and adapted the dimensions of the rich genetic material they have. This has given rise to vast and diverse cultural (life and commerce around plant diversity), culinary (incredible variety, tastes and nutrition as per purpose and season) and curative (food as medicine) practices. Shri Tomar said that the COVID pandemic has taught us some lessons. Availability and access to food is paramount to peace and stability. India remains committed to ensuring food and nutritional security for its citizens. Shri Tomar said that we need to ensure bountiful crop production year after year. The answer is crop diversity and diversification.

Shri Tomar said that no negotiation is possible at the cost of food security. All international forums must not forget that food is an essential fundamental right. Developing countries will be motivated by the need to ensure that the rights of farmers producing food are never compromised. This community is also responsible for the existence of plant genetic resources that we have today. We have many places and people around the world who have conserved invaluable genetic resources and valuable traditional knowledge. Emphasizing on the timely conservation and use of wild species of crops as well as potentially underutilized crops, he said that our struggle for climate resilient agriculture and nutritional security depends heavily on your decisions and actions. Shri Tomar said that genetic information obtained using advanced genomic and bio-informatic tools has the potential to become the subject of IPR. On the other hand, traditional knowledge that has been preserved and enriched from generation to generation becomes common knowledge. Multilateral fora such as the ITPGRFA are responsible for balancing commercial interests and heritage values ​​to ensure the continuity of PGR conservation on earth.

Shri Tomar said that India has been a firm advocate of sharing the wealth of plant genetic resources. A look at the IARC gene bank and other national gene banks shows that about 10% of the germplasm is of Indian origin. Our vision is very clear that the genetic resources of plants should be made available for research and sustainable use. Shri Tomar said that we cannot ignore the contribution of farmers, indigenous communities, tribal population and especially the women of the community in the conservation and selection of plant genetic resources over time. Therefore, we have a duty to keep their interests in mind while considering amendments and improvements to the Treaty. India stands firm in its faith and actions in the commitments of the multilateral agreement. He said that Article 9 of the ITPGFRA deals with the rights of farmers, which India is fully compliant with and relevant provisions are contained in the PPV&FR Act, 2001. 166 farmers/agriculture communities have been honoured with Plant Genome Saviour Awards. He said that India proposes to the Governing Body of ITPGRFA to consider putting into action a module of Awareness, Outreach and Capacity Building Programme related to Farmers’ Rights, for which India will support its implementation.

Shri Tomar said that global agricultural research is focusing on a few key crops for obvious reasons. Focusing on minor millets, minor pulses, minor fruits and leafy vegetables, he said that the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has a network of institutions working on these crops. We have encouraged our farmer-conservers to join us for the GB-9. Shri Tomar said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, agriculture is progressing in the country, farmers are prospering and the economy is also being strengthened. Many such infrastructures have been built in the country which inspires the country and can also show the way forward to the world.

Shri Tomar also expressed his immense pleasure that the Treaty Board and the Contracting Parties had honoured his call for India to host the meeting, made during GB8 meeting which was held at Rome in 2019, in which he had participated.

Shri Manoj Ahuja, Secretary, Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, GoI, while welcoming all the dignitaries, briefly elaborated about the strength of Indian agriculture and the significant progress made in the recent past due to progressive policies of the government. He urged that deliberations during the GB9 must lead to a balance in between genetic resources governance with use, investment with innovation and access with Benefit Sharing to achieve future-ready solutions for agriculture and food security.

Ms. Yasmina El-Bahloul, Chairperson of GB9 Bureau, welcomed all the delegates on behalf of the Treaty Bureau and thanked the Indian government for the warm hospitality and extraordinary arrangement for hosting the GB9.

Dr Dongou Qu, Director General, FAO, joined the session virtually. While thanking GoI for hosting the GB9 of the ITPGRFA, he said the Plant Treaty was universal and PGRFA needs sharing and caring for food security. These resources are important for agricultural resilience, especially in changing climate.

Mr. Shombi Sharp, UN Resident Coordinator, India, welcomed delegates on behalf of the United Nations and expressed happiness that UN was associated with the very important Treaty. He called for global solutions for global problems, especially since PGRFA plays a significant role in safeguarding agricultural production crops and thereby the farming community.

Dr Himanshu Pathak, Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education and Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research emphasized on the role of Research & Development institutions as well as well-trained human resource for effective management of PGRFA. He informed delegates about the excellent capacity of ICAR along with State Agricultural Universities for germplasm management and use. He offered interested nations to enhance the utilization of gene-pool through capacity building programmes by India in gene banking and in trait-specific evaluation.

After the inaugural ceremony, Shri Tomar visited the farmers' exhibitions and interacted with them. More than 400 delegates from nearly 150 member-countries have assembled during the six-day long GB9 to deliberate upon the ITPGRFA which oversees how the member nations exchange and sustainably use the world's Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, while ensuring fair and equitable benefit sharing arising from its use. The PGRFA are the basic building blocks upon which agricultural development, therefore, food security depends, especially on the climate change and other related challenges.

The major issues to be deliberated during the meeting comprise  (i) Amendment of the Treaty to expand the list of crops in the multilateral system; (ii)  Capacity-development strategy for the Treaty; (iii) Funding strategy, resource mobilization and the budget; (iv) Conservation and sustainable use of PGRFA and agriculture; (v) Compliance; (vi) Cooperation with other organizations and bodies; and (vii) Multi-year Programme of Work, including genome sequence information to pursue a more robust Treaty implementation. As host of GB9, India is expected to play a crucial role in minimizing the dissonance between technology-rich developed and gene-rich developing countries to achieve functional resolutions on critical agenda items. The GB9 also provides an excellent opportunity to convey the steadfast commitment of India to conservation and sustainable utilization of plant genetic diversity as well as farmers’ rights. On the eve of GB9, India called for a global harmony to use every available germplasm resource and every advanced technology to fight global hunger and ensure food and environmental security.

11-Nov-2019: Union Agriculture Minister attends the Eighth Session of Governing Body of Seed Treaty at FAO Headquarters in Rome

Union Agriculture Minister, Shri. Narendra Singh Tomar reminded the gathering that the conservation of plant genetic resources is the shared responsibility of humanity while addressing the Opening Ceremony of eight session of the Governing Body of International Treaty of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), at Rome, Italy. India is one among those countries where farming is the backbone of the socio-economy; where crop biodiversity is part and parcel of life and whose indigenous people, peasants have shaped the crop genetic resources that form the basis for breeding elsewhere in the world.

The Governing Body sessions are biennial and this year it is being held from 11th to 16th November with participation of delegates from 146 countries, international organizations, civil societies, farmers’ organizations, FAO officials and UN organizations.

Shri Tomar, while informing the delegates about the uniqueness of Indian legislation “Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPV&FR) Act” to protect Farmers’ Rights and breeder’s rights, said that in Indian legislation a farmer is entitled to save, use, sow, resow, exchange, share or sell his farm produce including seed of a variety protected under the PPV&FR Act, 2001 except brand name, and our legislation is fully compliant to article 9 of the Treaty. Under the provisions of this Act, 138 farmers/farming communities have been awarded with Plant Genome Saviour Awards. India has received about 16,620 applications for Plant Variety Protection out of which 10,920 (66%) have been received from farmers alone. Also, the PPV&FR Authority has registered about 3631 plant varieties out of which 1597 (44%) belong to the farmers.

ITPGRFA also known as Seed Treaty, is a comprehensive international agreement for ensuring food security through the conservation, exchange and sustainable use of the world's plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA), as well as the fair and equitable benefit sharing arising from its use. It also recognizes farmers' rights, subject to national laws.