“Why should we all be concerned about the Treaty? It’s fairly simple. We all eat food that farmers produce” Emile Frison, Bioversity International.
The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture has been a key accomplishment in world sustainability in the past 20 years. It provides a vital policy framework for food security. Every country can contribute, every country can benefit. But there is still progress to be made and I’m pleased to report some progress today.
Yesterday, on the opening day of Rio+20, I met with colleagues from around the world representing the public and private sectors to discuss what is needed to achieve the goals of the Treaty. The Treaty is not only about conserving and utilizing materials; it’s also about sustainability and alleviation of poverty and hunger. Access to the diversity of plant genetic resources is one of the greatest benefits derived from the Treaty.
Since the beginning of the negotiation of the Treaty, CGIAR has been involved and this was mentioned more than once at yesterday’s meeting. The importance of the CGIAR collections that distribute by far the largest number of varieties under the treaty was recognized. Furthermore, the fact that CGIAR made a deliberate choice to put all of its breeding program material into the multilateral system was appreciated. This ensured that the benefit sharing provisions of the Treaty would apply. Bioversity International scientist Michael Halewood was recently interviewed in advance of Rio+20 to raise awareness of the importance of the Treaty for the CGIAR and vice versa.
Why should we all be concerned about the Treaty? It’s fairly simple. We all eat food that farmers produce. Every time a farmer makes a decision on what to plant, and on what not to plant, he or she is making a genetic resources decision. The Treaty is a key tool Brazil and other countries can use for threats known and unknown.
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