Why in news?
India raised objections to proposed amendments to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) during discussions hosted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The government feared that revisions could dilute national sovereignty over seeds and diminish farmers’ traditional rights.
Overview of the treaty
- Adopted in 2001 and entering into force in 2004, the treaty seeks to conserve plant genetic resources, promote sustainable use and ensure fair and equitable sharing of benefits from their use.
- It establishes a Multilateral System (MLS) covering 64 food and forage crops. Countries agree to make these resources available to all signatories through a standardised mechanism.
- The Standard Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA) regulates access to seeds and germplasm within the MLS and ensures that benefits—such as research results or monetary payments—are shared with the global community.
India’s concerns
- Sovereignty: India is one of the world’s most biodiverse countries and home to thousands of farmer‑bred landraces. It fears that expanded access obligations could undermine its control over valuable genetic resources.
- Farmers’ rights: Indian law allows farmers to save, use, exchange and sell farm‑saved seeds. Any amendments that restrict these practices could impact smallholders’ livelihoods.
- Benefit sharing: India wants stronger mechanisms to ensure that companies commercialising genetic resources share profits fairly with indigenous communities and public gene banks.
Balancing openness and protection
- The treaty is crucial for food security because it encourages countries to pool genetic resources to breed resilient crops. Climate change, pests and diseases threaten global food supply; cross‑breeding requires access to diverse germplasm.
- However, developing countries emphasise that genetic resources originate from farmers and local communities; therefore, intellectual property regimes should not privatise or monopolise them.
- India advocates for a two‑tiered system: open sharing of genetic material for research and conservation, with strict benefit‑sharing obligations for commercial use.