The Benefit-sharing Fund (BSF) is a multilateral Fund established by the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (the International Treaty). It is an essential element of the International Treaty’s Funding Strategy and of the Multilateral System of Access and Benefit-sharing. The BSF was established in 2009 to support projects in developing countries, addressing food security, adaptation to climate change and agricultural biodiversity for improved livelihoods and economic development.

Since its establishment, the BSF has supported four project cycles comprising a total of 81 projects in 67 developing countries, to improve food security and sustainable agriculture in areas affected by climate change through the use and conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA). To date, more than 1 million people have benefited directly and indirectly from interventions supported through the BSF projects.

The BSF is an evolving mechanism; its operational procedures have been revised in the course of the updating process for the International Treaty’s Funding Strategy. A new Funding Strategy, with an Operations Manual for the Benefit-sharing Fund, was approved by the Governing Body in 2019. The Operations Manual brings together resource mobilization, allocation and disbursement in an integrated manner, and is incorporated into the overall Funding Strategy.

The overall goal of the Benefit-sharing Fund programme is to contribute to climate change adaptation, improved livelihoods, biodiversity conservation and economic development.

Within the agreed priorities of the Second Global Plan of Action, the Benefit-sharing Fund programme specifically focuses on:

• Priority area 2: Supporting on-farm management and improvement of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.
• Priority area 11: Promoting the development and commercialization of all varieties, primarily farmers’ varieties/landraces and underutilized crops.

The primary beneficiaries of the Benefit-sharing Fund are farmers who conserve and sustainably utilize PGRFA, as stated in Art. 13.3 of the International Treaty.

In the twentieth century, parts of the world’s food crop diversity disappeared forever, reducing coping capacities and the resources needed to grow crops that are more resilient, more productive and more nutritious.

Small-scale farmers, especially those most vulnerable to climate change and food insecurity, greatly depend on PGRFA to ensure their livelihoods. The Benefit-sharing Fund gives farmers access to a wide range of seeds that are adapted to their needs. This enables farmers to grow different types of crops with higher yields or varieties that are more resilient to pests, diseases and adverse climate conditions, as well as crops that taste better and are more nutritious. The BSF enables small-scale farmers, scientists and breeders to tap into the International Treaty’s global gene pool of millions of different genetic materials to undertake research and develop new crop varieties.

By helping farmers at local level to find solutions to climate change and other challenges, the International Treaty system for agricultural diversity is strengthened. The Benefit-sharing Fund transcends the divide that is often seen between in-situ/on-farm and ex-situ conservation, and shows how different initiatives from farming communities to national and international gene banks are linked together through the International Treaty. Knowledge, information and germplasm generated through the BSF feed back into the International Treaty’s enabling mechanisms, expanding the resources available all over the world to improve food security and sustainable agriculture.

BSF-funded projects are implemented by consortia of institutions that collaborate at national, regional and international levels to enhance the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture for improved livelihoods.

All BSF projects demonstrate the benefits that PGRFA bring to farmers in the three main output areas of the Results Framework:

BSF funds both single-country and multi-country projects to a maximum value of USD 300,000 for single country projects and USD 800 000 for multi-country projects. The duration of BSF projects ranges between 1 and 4 years.

Previous applicants to the BSF have included governmental and non-governmental organizations, including gene banks and research institutions, farmers’ organizations, and regional and international organizations, based in countries that are Contracting Parties. 

The list of Contracting Parties eligible to apply for support under the Fund is published as an annex to each Call for Proposals.

To apply for funding, project proposals must: (1) contribute to the objectives of the International Treaty; (2) fall within the priorities of the Fund; (3) benefit Contracting Parties that are developing countries; (4) be presented through the official channels listed in the Call; and, (5) be submitted on or before the established deadline for submissions.

Since 2009, the Benefit-sharing Fund has operated through global Calls for Proposals.

Each Call for Proposals under the BSF is published on the International Treaty website in all the Treaty languages. The Secretariat also sends notifications that the Call has been issued to all National Focal Points of the International Treaty, accredited Permanent Representations to FAO, and FAO Representations in countries that are Contracting Parties to the International Treaty.

In 2019, the Governing Body, through Resolution 3/2019, approved a new Operations Manual for the Benefit-sharing Fund (BSF Manual).

The BSF Manual expands the options for the use of resources under the Fund and delegates authority for the management of BSF operations during each biennium to the Standing Committee on the Funding Strategy and Resource Mobilization (the Funding Committee), which may decide to:

1. establish and launch a new round of the project cycle;
2. provide funding to projects that previously received a Certificate of Excellence from the Panel of Experts or to a second phase of projects previously funded by the Benefit-sharing Fund;
3. contribute to larger development programmes to support the implementation of interventions that are aligned with the programmatic approach of the Benefit-sharing Fund; and
4. provide project preparation funding for larger project proposal development contributing to the programmatic approach of the Fund.

An independent panel of 14 experts  – two from each of the FAO regions – is responsible for screening and appraising project proposals. With consideration given to the Panel of Experts’ recommendations, the Funding Committee approves the portfolio of projects to be funded. The independent panel carries out its work taking into account the Policy on Conflicts of Interest and related Standards of Conduct for the Benefit-sharing Fund, as adopted by the Governing Body at its 5^th session in September 2013.

There are two main sources of funding for the BSF:

1. User-based income from the Multilateral System for Access and Benefit-sharing, which is considered of paramount importance to the delivery of sustainable and predictable resources to the Fund.
2. Voluntary contributions from Contracting Parties and others.

As specified in Article 19.3.f of the International Treaty, the Benefit-sharing Fund is the mechanism established by the Governing Body for receiving and utilizing the financial resources that accrue from the Multilateral System. Potential sources of voluntary contributions to the Benefit-sharing Fund include Contracting Parties and their respective ministries of Agriculture, Foreign Affairs, development assistance and other relevant institutions.

Other contributors may include states that are not yet Contracting Parties of the International Treaty; philanthropic organizations; private-sector companies, including from the food processing industry; and relevant international mechanisms, such as United Nations agencies and international organizations.