When Contracting Parties join the International Treaty, they agree to include all plant genetic resources for food and agriculture listed in Annex I of the Treaty, which are under their management and control and in the public domain. To obtain facilitated access, users need to know about the existence of the material that is available.

During the early years of implementation, the notification of material available was done through letters sent to the Secretary and posted on the website. Over time, most links became obsolete, and many websites were only available in a local language, or not always available in one of the most widely used languages. Moreover, references to the plant material were made in many different formats.

With the setting up of the Global Information System under Article 17 of the International Treaty and the use of Digital Object Identifiers, users now have access to a standardized global mechanism to identify their PGRFA and a set of key standard descriptors.  The holder of the material can send a list using a standardized Excel table. The Secretariat will assist with this process on request. Please email [email protected], and you will receive the information, template, and direct access to the tools.