Plant Genetic Resources and Food Security – Stakeholder Perspectives on the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

In a world where two thirds of the total population does not eat well or enough, improving food quality and production constitute a great hope for human well-being, in particular for developing countries. The recent crisis of 2008 about the price of foodstuff in developing countries shows the urgent necessity of increasing food production and quality. However, the management and the capacity to develop PGRFA largely remain with developed countries. There is therefore a clear need to organize a global mechanism for the effective and sustainable management of PGRFA, and the equitable sharing of benefits derived from them. This is the reason why countries negotiated and signed the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA). The book addresses the legal and political avenues in the negotiations of the ITPGRFA, as well as the different stakeholders’ positions on PGRFA management, focusing in particular on the following objectives: • To relate the management of PGRFA with food security issues; • To analyse the diverse stakeholders’ positions regarding the ITPGRFA; • To analyse the merits and drawbacks of the ITPGRFA; • To examine the practical legal, political, environmental and economic issues that have arisen between all involved stakeholders in the negotiation of the ITPGRFA, and what obstacles have been overcome; • To identify challenges ahead and express stakeholders’ views on how these could be met; • To contribute to facilitate implementation of the ITPGRFA.