Summary
On Thursday, the Working Group met in morning, afternoon and evening sessions.
Participants concluded a second reading of the third draft revised Standard Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA). Among other items, they addressed provisions on: withdrawal from and termination of the SMTA; rates and modalities of payment arising from commercialization; and terms and conditions of a subscription system.
Participants then discussed the proposed launch mechanism for an enhanced Multilateral System, aiming to generate funds for the Benefit-Sharing Fund and expand the Treaty’s crop coverage. Most regions expressed their support for such a mechanism in principle. Africa expressed doubts on whether the timeline and plan proposed is realistic and, with India, proposed that a charge on seed sales in each country can be used to fund contributions to the Benefit-Sharing Fund.
Participants finally held a discussion on genetic information associated with material accessed from the Multilateral System. Some regions urged addressing the matter in the revised SMTA, while others highlighted the need for additional information and further discussion.
IISD Reporting Services, through its Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB) Meeting Coverage, provided digital coverage and a summary and analysis report from OWG-EFMLS-6, which is available in HTML and PDF.
Photos by IISD/ENB | Mike Muzurakis
For photo reprint permissions, please follow instructions at our Attribution Regulations for Meeting Photo Usage Page.
From L-R: Álvaro Toledo, ITPGRFA Secretariat; Tobias Kiene, ITPGRFA Secretariat; Javad Mozafari, Working Group Co-Chair; Bert Visser, Working Group Co-Chair; and Kent Nnadozie, ITPGRFA Secretary Ad-Interim
Thomas Meier, European Region, with Michael Halewood, CGIAR Consortium
Dan Leskien, Secretariat of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA) and Irene Hoffmann, CGRFA Secretary
Participants networking
Felicitas Katepa-Mupondwa, North America Region
Javad Mozafari, Working Group Co-Chair
Edward Hammond, Civil Society
José Francisco Montenegro Valls, Latin America and the Caribbean Region
Pierre du Plessis, Africa Region
Catherine Karr-Colque, North America Region
Akio Yamamoto, Asia Region
Frank Michiels, Bayer Corporation, with John Duesing, DuPont Pioneer
Carolina Rodríguez, International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), with Paul Olson, Seed Industry
Patricia Larbouret, European Region
Bert Visser, Working Group Co-Chair
Tamira Ford, South West Pacific Region
Guy Kastler, Farmers Organizations
Thomas Nickson, Seed Industry
Kuldeep Singh, Asia Region
Marliese von den Driesch, Thomas Meier and Patricia Larbouret, European Region
Participants networking during the lunch break
Ali Chehade, Near East Region and Cheikh Alassane Fall, Africa Region
Kent Nnadozie, ITPGRFA Secretary Ad-Interim, with Pierre du Plessis, Africa Region
Hélène Guillot and Szonja Csörgő, Seed Industry
Participants networking during the lunch break
Paul Olson, Seed Industry, Frank Michiels, Bayer Corporation, and Kent Nnadozie, ITPGRFA Secretary Ad-Interim
Marliese von den Driesch and Thomas Meier, European Region
Around the Venue
