The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) is a pivotal piece of recent legislation, providing a route map for the use of such resources for sustainable agriculture and food security.
This book explains clearly the different interests and views at stake between all players in the global food chain. It touches upon many issues such as international food governance and policy, economic aspects of food and seed trade, conservation and sustainable use of food and agricultural biodiversity, hunger alleviation, ecological concerns, consumers' protection, fairness and equity between nations and generations, plant breeding techniques and socio-economic benefits related to food local economies.
The book shows that despite the conflicting interests at stake, players managed to come to an agreement on food and agriculture for the sake of food security and hunger alleviation in the world.
Published with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations and with Bioversity International.
1. Introduction: A Treaty to Fight Hunger: Past Negotiations, Present Situation, and Future Challenges
Part I: Perspectives on the Treaty by Regions in the World
2. Overview of Regional Approaches: The Negotiating Process of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
3. The African Regional Group: Creating Fair Play Between North and South
4. The Asian Regional Group
5. The European Regional Group: Europe's Role and Positions During the Negotiations and Early Implementation of the International Treaty
6. The Latin American and Caribbean Regional Group: A Long and Successful Process for the Protection, Conservation and Enhancing of PGRFA
7. The Near East Regional Group: Centring the Diversity for Unlocking the Genetic Potential
8. The North American Regional Group: Globalization that Works
9. The South West Pacific Regional Group: Pacific Island Countries and Territories
Part II: Perspectives on the Treaty by Stakeholders in the World Food Chain
10. International Non-Governmental Organizations: The Hundred Year (or so) Seed War: Seeds, Sovereignty and Civil Society. A Historical Perspective on the Evolution of "The Law of the Seed"
11. International Research Centres: The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research and the International Treaty
12. The Seed Industry: Plant Breeding and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
13. Farmers' Communities: A Reflection on the Treaty from Small Farmers' Perspectives
14. Genebank Curators: Towards Implementation of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture by the Indian National Genebank
15. Plant Breeders: The Point of View of a Plant Breeder on the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
16. The Global Crop Diversity Trust: An Essential Element of the Treaty's Funding Strategy
Geoffrey Hawtin, CIAT
17. Consumers: Biodiversity is a Common Good
Part III Experts' Views on Future Challenges in Implementing the Treaty: Trust and Benefit-sharing as the key
18. Our Heritage is Our Future: Humankind's Responsibility for Food Security
19. An Innovative and Transparent Option for Royalty Payment Under the ITPGRFA: Implementing the Article 6.11 Crop-related Modality of the SMTA
20. Conclusions by the Editors: Summary and Analysis of Issues Raised by Authors and Further Development of Possible Ways Forward
Christine Frison is a lawyer currently conducting a PhD research at the Catholic University of Louvain (Belgium) on international law and governance of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. She is also a research fellow at the Centre for International Sustainable Development Law (Montreal, Canada) and carries out consultancy contracts for various international organisations (including the United Nations Environment Programme), NGOs and governments (e.g. Belgian Federal Ministry for the Environment).
Francisco López is Treaty Support Officer for the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and is based at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, Rome, Italy.
José T. Esquinas-Alcázar is currently the Director of the Catedra on Studies on Hunger and Poverty of the University of Cordoba, and has worked for 30 years in FAO as Secretary of the FAO´s intergovernmental Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.