Almost three years after the eighth session of the Governing Body (GB), parties to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA or Treaty) and observers met to address a range of items critical for the future of the Treaty’s implementation, governance of agricultural biodiversity, and global food security.

The ninth session of the GB was held at a crucial moment for global biodiversity governance. In December 2022, the fifteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is expected to adopt a post-2020 global biodiversity framework, after years of negotiations and delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In recognition of the close linkages between the Treaty and the CBD, this session of the GB was held under the theme “Celebrating the Guardians of Crop Diversity: Towards an Inclusive Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.” The theme aimed to acknowledge the contribution of the world’s smallholder farmers to the effective management of plant genetic resources, while providing an opportunity to consider how the Treaty and its community will contribute to the new global biodiversity framework. The GB also considered the Options for encouraging, guiding and promoting the realization of Farmers’ Rights as set out in Article 9 of the International Treaty, developed by the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Farmers’ Rights.

At the same time, the session was critical for the future of the Treaty itself. The eighth session of the Governing Body was unable to reach consensus on measures to enhance the functioning of the Treaty’s Multilateral System (MLS) of access and benefit-sharing, despite significant progress made during six years of negotiations under an open-ended Working Group. Nor did the GB agree on a formal intersessional process to continue deliberations on the enhancement of the MLS. A series of informal consultations were held instead. The GB considered the outcome of these consultations, along with reports on implementation and assessment of the MLS, and provided guidance on future steps and measures necessary for the enhancement of the MLS, which is considered vital for agricultural research and development and global food security.

The session further considered items related to:

• a capacity-development strategy for the Treaty;
• the Funding Strategy and resource mobilization, and the budget;
• conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture;
• compliance;
• cooperation with other organizations and bodies; and
• the Multi-year Programme of Work, including digital sequence information.

The ninth session of the GB was held from 19-24 September 2022, in New Delhi, India.