7th Session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on
Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

On Friday, a morning plenary chaired by Antonio Otavio Sá Ricarte (Brazil) considered resolutions on enhancing the Multilateral System (MLS), farmers’ rights, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, sustainable use, compliance, MLS operations, and cooperation with the Crop Trust. The contact group on farmers’ rights and the budget committee met during lunch time.

The closing plenary resumed at 6 pm and adopted the report of the meeting and 14 resolutions, including on: establishment of an ad hoc technical expert group on farmers’ rights; extension of the mandate of the intersessional working group on enhancing the MLS to develop a proposal for a growth plan to attain the enhanced MLS and revise the text of the Standard Material Transfer Agreement; a decision to put in the GB 8 agenda the item of digital sequence information; and reconvening the ad hoc committee on the Funding Strategy and resource mobilization to, inter alia, develop the updated Funding Strategy.

Following regional statements, delegates acknowledged the long-term dedication and important contributions of Bert Visser (the Netherlands), Pat Mooney (ETC Group) and Ruaraidh Sackville Hamilton (IRRI). Secretary Kent Nnadozie expressed commitment to maintain momentum to make meaningful contributions towards global food security and the Sustainable Development Goals.

GB 7 Chair Sabran drew the meeting to a close at 10:54 pm.

A morning plenary addressed items on: appointment of the Secretary; the communication strategy; and digital sequence information.

In the afternoon, plenary discussed draft resolutions on: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; sustainable use; collaboration with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Crop Trust, the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA), and other bodies; compliance; and operations of the Multilateral System (MLS). Contact groups on farmers’ rights and on enhancing the MLS met in the evening.

A night plenary addressed revised draft resolutions, including on cooperation with the CBD and MLS operations. Deliberations continued into the night.

Delegates to the seventh session of the Governing Body (GB 7) of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) met in plenary throughout the day to address items on: farmers’ rights; the multi-year programme of work (MYPOW); digital sequence information; compliance; and cooperation with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the Crop Trust, the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA), and other organizations.

The budget committee, and contact groups on farmers’ rights and on enhancing the Multilateral System (MLS) met throughout the day and in the evening.

Delegates to the seventh session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture met in plenary throughout the day to address items on: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development; the Funding Strategy; farmers’ rights; the Global Information System; and sustainable use. The budget committee, a Friends of the Chair group on farmers’ rights, and the contact group on enhancing the MLS met in the afternoon and evening.

Delegates to the seventh session of the Governing Body (GB 7) of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) met in plenary throughout the day and in the evening, to hear opening and regional statements, address organizational matters, and initiate discussions on enhancement of the Multilateral System (MLS) of access and benefit-sharing (ABS) and a proposal by Switzerland to expand Annex I to all plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA). Following lengthy deliberations, they agreed to address the topic of digital sequence information under the agenda item on the multi-year programme of work (MYPOW). A contact group on enhancing the MLS met in the evening.