Marking 10 years of the International Treaty

'A promising start but more to be done’ – this was the general consensus agreed at an international event held in Rome yesterday to mark 10 years of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. The International Treaty was adopted by the FAO Conference in November 2001 and came into force in 2004.

It is a powerful legal instrument that defines the legal status and conditions for pooling, exchanging and conserving plant genetic resources for food and agriculture between countries.  

Plant genetic resources are important as they are the raw materials needed by farmers, scientists, and breeders to help achieve food security in the face of climate change, land and water scarcity and an increasing population. 

As no single country has all the genetic diversity it needs and is dependent on others, this has created a need for a global pool of agricultural biodiversity that we can all share.

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