EU pledges to protect crop diversity

The European Union's Council of Ministers has agreed to sign the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, which is designed to help protect the world's most important agricultural plant species and thereby safeguard global food security.

David Byrne, European Commissioner for Health and Consumer Protection, welcomed the decision. "We must preserve and improve the diversity and quality of the food on offer in the EU,"​ he said.

"Research and breeding for the improvement and diversification of food production requires access to a wide range of agricultural biodiversity, particularly as fruit and vegetables are concerned. In this respect the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture guarantees access to a wide range of natural resources."​

Byrne cited the example of Brassicas - vegetables such as cabbage, rapeseed, mustard, cress, rocket, radish and turnip, all of which are important elements of the European diet - saying that it was important for the EU to sign the Treaty and protect the future of these and other vegetable crops.

The Treaty provides for free access to plant genetic resources for research and breeding, and any companies which benefit from the use of that research are obliged to pay back a share of the proceeds to fund further research.

The Treaty was approved by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) on 3 November 2001, and will be set up in harmony with the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), established in 1992 but which not include agricultural crops.

Its genesis has not been easy, however, because of a clash of various interests and opinions, not least concerning the sharing of commercial and other benefits through the use of genetic resources deriving from developing countries. Negotiations began in 1994, and it took eight years to draw up the Treaty, which still does not cover all agricultural crops.

The EU said it would continue to fight for the inclusion of other agricultural crops within the Treaty, which at present covers just 35 food crops and 29 forages. However, the Union warned that this would not be easy to achieve, due to the requirement of consensus for all decisions.

Further negotiations are also likely to be needed before the implementation of the benefit-sharing provisions. These negotiations are expected to start in the autumn at the Interim Committee for the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

So far eleven states have signed the Treaty, which will come into force when ratified by 40 states. Countries have until 4 November 2002 to sign the Treaty, which can be found on the EU's website​. The EU and its Member States are expected to sign the Treaty early in June.