In News:

• The Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister recently stated that no negotiation is possible at the expense of food security.
• He was speaking at the 9th session of the governing body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA).
  • The session was held at New Delhi.

 The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA):

Background:

• The conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture are key to ensuring that the world will produce enough food to feed its growing population in the future.
• In 1983, the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture was established, and the voluntary International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources was adopted.
• Another major step was taken in 1996 with the adoption of the Global Plan of Action at the Leipzig International Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Resources.
• All this work culminated in 2001 with the historic adoption of the legally binding ITPGRFA, which entered into force in 2004.

About the Treaty:

• Also known as the International Seed Treaty or Plant Treaty, it is a comprehensive international agreement in harmony with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
• The Treaty was signed (2001) during the 31st session of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Rome, Italy.
• Since 2006, the Treaty has its own Governing Body under the aegis of the FAO. The Governing Body is the highest organ of the Treaty.
  • Composed of representatives of all Contracting Parties, its basic function is to promote the full implementation of the Treaty.
• There are 148 Contracting Parties to the Plant Treaty (147 Member States and 1 intergovernmental organization - the European Union).
• It 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 with the countries where they have originated.
• Therefore, the Treaty guarantees -
  • Food security through the conservation, exchange and sustainable use of the world's plant genetic resources for food and agriculture,
  • The fair and equitable benefit sharing arising from its use,
  • The recognition of farmers' rights. 

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO):

• It is an international organization (founded in October 1945; headquartered in Rome, Italy) that leads international efforts to defeat hunger and improve nutrition and food security (its motto - "let there be bread").
• It is a specialized agency of the United Nations and is composed of 195 members (including 194 countries and the European Union).
  • The FAO is governed by a biennial conference representing each member country and the European Union, which elects a 49-member executive council.
• It helps governments and development agencies coordinate their activities to improve and develop agriculture, forestry, fisheries, land and water resources.

News Summary:

Key highlights of the Union Minister’s speech at the Session:

• 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.
• The plant genetic resources are the solution to breeding challenges and all modern technologies as well as traditional knowledge must be used to preserve and use them in a sustainable manner.
• A balance between genetic resources governance and use, investment and innovation, and access and Benefit Sharing to achieve future-ready solutions for agriculture and food security, is the need of the hour.
• The struggle for climate resilient agriculture and nutritional security depends heavily on the decisions and actions of the signatories of the ITPGRFA.

Key highlights of the Director General’s (FAO) speech at the Session:

• The session is celebrating smallholder farmers as guardians of crop diversity. They are food heroes and their contributions must be recognised.
• The world is heading for a population of nine billion. At the same time, the impacts of the climate crisis and biodiversity loss are putting pressure on agriculture.
• The pandemic and ongoing conflicts are affecting the way the world produces, supplies and consumes food.
• To deal with these challenges,
  • We must feed more people while using fewer resources and protecting our natural resources.
  • We must expand our use of diverse and resilient crops, as well as their genetic resources.
  • The public and private sectors, farmers, and academia must work together to make genetic diversity and sustainability available to breeders and researchers in order to enable innovation.
• Along with capacity development, strong institutions and strong partnerships, the ITPGRFA is critical to achieving these goals.
• Making the Treaty truly universal will aid in the preservation, sharing, and protection of agricultural diversity.