Highlights and images for 2 April 2025

The contribution of the Treaty’s Multilateral System (MLS) to crop diversity conservation and public agricultural research is unquestionable, participants underscored. To enhance the flow of monetary benefits to the MLS, the objective is now to attract income from companies, the commercial users of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.  

However, policy visions and countries’ priorities differ. A series of technical questions and the interlinkages among issues under consideration further complicate the deliberations. 

Wednesday’s text-based negotiations were conducted on the basis of a revised proposal, including amendments in the draft resolution and the draft standard material transfer agreement (SMTA), developed in the context of the Friends of the Co-Chairs’ group that met on Tuesday evening. The new draft maintained a dual mechanism for access to MLS material, either through subscription to all MLS material, or through “single access” to specific material, and introduced amendments, including: 

• removing references to a deferred payment option under the subscription;
• removing mentions to voluntary benefit-sharing payments from use of digital sequence information (DSI) / genetic sequence data (GSD) under single access; and  
• a new paragraph that introduces the user to the two options for access, stating that the recipient of the material must select between subscription and single access. 

From the outset, a number of regions voiced their preference for a subscription-only system. North America reiterated they can only accept a dual access system based on subscription and single access. The EU underscored that subscription is the most effective option for enhancing the MLS, but noted that stakeholder consultations showed no support for a subscription-only system.

Delegates agreed to delete all references to a deferred payment option under the subscription, and to voluntary payments related to use of DSI/GSD under single access. They further agreed that, in the case of a dual system for access, neither of the two access options would be identified as the “default.” 

Delegates further addressed a series of paragraphs in the draft resolution, and clauses and annexes of the draft SMTA, including on: 

• subscription modalities and registration process (draft SMTA Article 6.11 and Annex 2); and 
• modalities for single access (draft SMTA Articles 6.7 and 6.8, and Annex 4). 

Deliberations continued in the evening.