Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

The Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture is an intergovernmental forum established in FAO in 1983 to deal with issues related to plant genetic resources. Since 1995 the work of the Commission also covers other components of biodiversity of relevance to food and agriculture such as animal genetic diversity, forest genetic diversity, aquatic genetic diversity, micro-organisms and invertebrates.

The Commission is the only permanent forum for governments to discuss and negotiate matters specifically relevant to biological diversity for food and agriculture, including policies for the sustainable use and conservation of genetic resources for food and agriculture and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits derived from their use. Since its establishment, the Commission has overseen global assessments of the state of the world’s plant and animal genetic resources for food and agriculture and negotiated major international instruments, including the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

In 20001, after seven years of negotiations in the Commission, the FAO Conference adopts the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (Resolution 3/2001), a legally binding treaty that covers all plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, recognises Farmers’ Rights and establishes a Multilateral System to facilitate access to plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, and to share the benefits derived from their use in a fair and equitable way.

External Sources

• Commission website
• Video on genetic resources for food and agriculture
• Second State of the World Plant Genetic Resources
• Global Plan of Action on Plant Genetic Resources (GPA)
• State of the World Animal Geentic Resources
• Global Plan of Action on Animal Genetic Resources
• Website of the Convention on Biological Diversity
• Website of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture