|
Historic agreement
promotes food security |
Madrid, Spain
June 16, 2006
The Governing Body of the
International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food
and Agriculture today adopted several decisions that
will help the world community to fight global poverty
and hunger. Among the most important is the Standard
Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA) – a uniform contract
that will enable much easier access to the crop
biodiversity farmers and scientists need. The agreement
should prove simple to operate and will encourage
widespread use. It will also encourage the sharing of
benefits associated with the use of plant genetic
resources.
“This is excellent news,” said Emile Frison, Director
General of the
International Plant Genetic Resources Institute
(IPGRI). “It is a
clear signal that all parties are ready to rebuild an
atmosphere of trust and collaboration that is bound to
be good for the future of agriculture, especially in
developing countries.”
The seed treaty, as it has become known, creates a
multilateral system that enables access to plant genetic
resources and also establishes benefit-sharing based on
royalties levied on commercial products that use
material obtained through the multilateral system. The
SMTA sets out the terms that govern access and benefit
sharing and will accompany all transfers of genetic
materials. With 104 countries having ratified the
Treaty, the stage is set for hundreds of thousands of
exchanges around the world each year in support of
breeding and research to improve agriculture.
Sticking points in the SMTA negotiations were resolved
at an all-night session that ended on Friday morning.
One major achievement concerns the definition of a
product: any variety that incorporates material from the
multilateral system. Previous drafts had spoken of
genetic thresholds and specific economically valuable
traits, both difficult to assess. The simplified
definition adopted by the Governing Body will make it
easier to use the SMTA and will avoid problems of
interpretation.
“The definition broadens the scope of products that will
trigger a payment, and because of that and its
simplicity the MTA should encourage widespread use of
the multilateral system,” Frison said.
The royalty payment has been set at 1.1% of sales. It is
mandatory if the product is not available for further
breeding and research. Payments are voluntary if the
products are not restricted and are available for
further use. The funds will be devoted to conservation
efforts, mainly in developing countries.
A novel element of the International Treaty is the
establishment of a body to protect the interests of the
multilateral system as a whole to be considered as Third
Party Beneficiary. In cases of alleged misuse of
material obtained through the multilateral system this
entity will have the right to bring legal actions on
behalf of the multilateral system.
Frison, representing the Future Harvest Centres of the
Consultative Group on International Agricultural
Research, also welcomed the Governing Body’s approval
for an agreement with the Centres. Once the Centres sign
the agreement all the genetic resources they hold in
trust for humanity will be included in the International
Treaty.
“Everything is now in place for the Centres to sign
agreements with the Governing Body,” Frison said. “I’m
sure we all look forward to the boost this will give to
the use of biodiversity.”
The Governing Body also recognized the Global Crop
Diversity Trust as an essential element of the
International Treaty’s funding strategy. Cary Fowler,
Executive Director of the Trust, commented: “This
reaffirms the Trust’s unique global mandate, and such
strong endorsement from the international community will
help the Trust to ensure the conservation and
availability of plant genetic resources for the benefit
of agriculture everywhere”.
For background information on this week's meeting, see:
|
|
|
|
