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International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. Membership. Commission on Genetic Resources. 1983 International Undertaking 1989-91 Agreed interpretations Farmers’ Rights UPOV 1994 Legal framework for CG collections 1996 State of the World’s PGRFA

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International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

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  1. International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

  2. Membership

  3. Commission on Genetic Resources • 1983 International Undertaking • 1989-91 Agreed interpretations • Farmers’ Rights • UPOV • 1994 Legal framework for CG collections • 1996 State of the World’s PGRFA • 1996 Global Plan of Action

  4. 1992: CBD • Reaffirms national sovereignty over GR • Access through • Prior informed consent • On mutually agreed terms • Need to revise the Undertaking • Negotiations begin in 1994

  5. Special nature of PGRFA • Pharmaceutical ‘bioprospecting’ is not like plant breeding: • It works with chemicals, not genes • The product is synthesized and patented • Plant breeding • combines and recombines genomes • uses materials from the whole world

  6. The PGRFA portfolio • Results from 10,000 years of exchange • Is crucial for food security • Exchange is the basis of the Breeder’s exemption • Countries average 70% interdependence

  7. Under the CBD • Sovereignty, not ‘heritage of mankind’ • Aims at an incentive for conservation • Onus on governments create systems where market forces create reinvestment • Has almost universally been implemented through private ‘assess and use’ contracts

  8. But are such contracts a good model for agriculture?

  9. They imply trade secrecy • Raw materials not available to others • Research results are kept secret • Grave implications for public research • This pushes innovation towards patents • They skew the research agenda • They result in high transaction costs • This result in a market failure • Collection and exchange has declined

  10. Challenge for the Treaty • How to construct an internationally agreed framework for the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits, within this increasing privatization, and in the context of a continuing loss of biological diversity

  11. The Treaty is more than just access and benefit-sharing • Objectives: conservation and sustainable use, fair and equitable benefit-sharing, for sustainable agriculture and food security • Scope: all PGRFA • Recognises farmers’ rights • Funding Strategy for developing countries

  12. The Multilateral System • 64 crops, chosen for food security and interdependence • They provide 80% of our plant food • Material brought in by: • Governments • Private institutions and companies • The CGIAR and other international institutions

  13. The Multilateral System • Benefit-sharing a contractual obligation • Only at end of development cycle, when a product (seed) is commercialised, that incorporates material from the Multilateral system • Benefits return to the Multilateral System, not a provider • No other proprietary rights

  14. The Multilateral System • Neutral as to intellectual property rights • Mandatory payment of 1.1% of sales (-30%), when product is not freely available for research and breeding • Voluntary payment when it is • All non-confidential research information shall be made available • Alternative payment: access to a whole crop for 0.5% of all sales of that crop

  15. Administering a public good under private contract? • Two challenges and innovative solutions: • How to ensure uniformity across jurisdictions • Binding international arbitration • How to vindicate the Treaty’s rights • Contractual recognition of a ‘third party beneficial interest’ and appointment of the ‘third party beneficiary’

  16. Benefits • Access itself • Low transaction costs • Overcomes market failure • Provides public and private breeders with a wide range of resources • Contributes to food security • provides the industry with a clear framework in which to plan investment

  17. To make the system work • Governments must ensure the SMTA works, across legal systems • The seed industry, and UPOV, needs to support it. No alternative can be as favourable • The Funding Strategy must mobilise benefits for developing countries

  18. Part of the Treaty’s Funding Strategy • An endowment of $260 million the long-term conservation of key ex situ collections • A public-private partnership • An investment in humanity’s future

  19. Thank you

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