The ninth session of the Governing Body on the ‘International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture’ (ITPGRFA) will begin here on Monday. The session will discuss the need to develop the climate-resilient varieties of foodgrains and will draft a roadmap for the exchange of scientific information on plant genetic resources for increasing the crop production and productivity.
Talking to The Hindu, Kent Nnadozie, Secretary of ITPGRFA said the treaty was negotiated to respond to the loss of crop diversity. “We kept losing different crops and different varieties over the years. This convention is to create a framework to ensure that the plant breeders and farmers have access to crop diversity and they can breed new varieties to meet the challenges of climate change and also to increase productivity. The convention is also to ensure that the benefits arising from using the planting materials are shared in an equitable manner where the farmers and the countries who contribute in developing the new crops also benefit from the utilisation of crop diversity,” Dr. Nadozie said.
