News: Farmers, policymakers warn Centre against proposed amendments to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (the ‘Plant Treaty’).
About International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
- It is an international agreement between member countries to conserve, use and manage plant genetic resources for food and agriculture around the world for the benefit of people everywhere.
- It is also known as the Plant Treaty.
- It was adopted by the the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations on 3 November 2001.
- The Treaty entered into force on 29 June 2004.
- It is a legally binding instrument.
- Aim: The Treaty aims at-
- recognizing the enormous contribution of farmers to the diversity of crops that feed the world;
- establishing a global system to provide farmers, plant breeders and scientists with access to plant genetic materials;
- ensuring that recipients share benefits they derive from the use of these genetic materials.
- The Treaty ensures that farmers and plant breeders access, easily, the raw genetic material needed to develop new crop varieties, including those with higher yields and those that are resilient to climate change.
- Mechanisms: It provides a global solution to the challenges of crop diversity loss and climate change adaptation through mechanisms such as the Multilateral System and Benefit-sharing Fund.
- It is a Multilateral System on Access and Benefit-sharing covers 64 of the world’s major crops, accounting for about 80% of our food derived from plants.
- The genetic resources of our most important food crops are managed and exchanged by member countries and other stakeholders according to the provisions of the International Treaty.
- Contracting Parties: As of 1 April 2025, the International Treaty has 154 Contracting Parties (members), including the European Union (EU).
