A crucial legally binding global treaty on sustainable agriculture has become law today, FAO announced. The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture has entered into force, 55 countries having now ratified it. “This is the start of a new era,” said FAO Director-General, Dr Jacques Diouf. “The Treaty brings countries, farmers and plant breeders together and offers a multilateral approach for accessing genetic resources and sharing their benefits. Humankind needs to safeguard and further develop the precious crop gene pool that is essential for agriculture.” “The agreement recognises that farmers around the world, particularly those in the South, have developed and conserved plant genetic resources over the millennia. It is now up to countries to make the Treaty fully operative,” he said.
