Plant genetics conference achieves unanimous approval
declaration on the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources
for Food and Agriculture.
In Madrid, ministers of agriculture from across the globe pledged to fully implement the treaty at the national level.
The ministers expressed their conviction that the Treaty is vital to achieving the UN's Millennium Development Goals - particularly eradicating extreme poverty and hunger and guaranteeing environmental sustainability.
They also pledged to enhance national capacities for the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources.
The Madrid meeting of the Ministerial Segment of the Treaty's governing bodies, chaired by Elena Espinosa, Spain's minister of agriculture, fisheries and food, was attended by over 70 countries, a fact which sent a powerful political message in support of the treaty, according to FAO.
This was the first ever meeting of the treaty's governing body.
FAO director-general Jacques Diouf urged countries to muster the political will needed to guarantee the treaty's ongoing implementation, describing the international accord as "a fundamental tool in humanity's efforts to do away with hunger and malnutrition."
"We must reaffirm our political will to work for the benefit of present and future generations as well as our commitment to do everything possible to ensure that the treaty is fully and comprehensively implemented," he said.
The meeting will now seek to lay down the procedures for implementation and other key aspects, such as a financial strategy, access to plant genetic resources and the sharing of benefits deriving from their use.
Indeed, a multilateral system of access to plant genetic resources is one of the cornerstones of the treaty. This system applies to a list of 64 plant species, selected on the basis of food security and interdependence criteria, including wheat, rice, potatoes and maize, which are staple components in the diet of a large proportion of the worlds population.
This week, Diouf also called on the governments present at today's inaugural to cooperate in order to ensure that the treaty lives up to its full potential as a tool for increasing food production and improving food quality.
He also appealed to delegates attending the 'Ministerial Segment' of the meeting, which starts today, to marshal "the political will to make it possible to build up a productive and innovative future for the treaty," urging them to ensure that their national plans, programmes and legislation reflect its objectives and provisions as well as development assistance priorities.
The treaty is a legally binding instrument negotiated by FAO's member states, and came into force in June 2004 as the culmination of a long process that began in the 1970s.
