22/11/2012

The Kingdom of Swaziland has now submitted its instrument of ratification to the FAO and will raise to 128 the number of Contracting Parties to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture on 21 January 2013.

Swaziland signed the Treaty on 10 June 2002 and it had pending the deposit of the instrument of ratification with the Director-General of FAO in order to become a Contracting Party.

Being a Contracting Party to the International Treaty will guarantee for the country facilitated access to genetic resources from the global genepool of the Treaty and an international network of ex-situ collections. Furthermore, Swaziland will become eligible to submit project proposals to the next calls of the Benefit-sharing Fund and will be able to participate in other non-monetary initiatives on technology transfer and capacity building under the Treaty. Finally, the country will be able to ensure that its national interests are taken into account and its voice is listened to in this intergovernmental policy-making body.

In addition to the International Treaty, the Kingdom of Swaziland has also ratified the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

“We warmly welcomes the Kingdom of Swaziland and we are looking forward to working closely with the responsible national authorities and other stakeholders in Swaziland to support implementation of the International Treaty in the country”, said Shakeel Bhatti, Secretary of the Governing Body of the International Treaty.

Crop diversity in Swaziland

With a land area of (17,400 km2) the Kingdom of Swaziland is located between 25 degrees 19' and 25 degrees 43' South; 32 degrees 08' and 32 degrees 44' east, entirely surrounded by the Republic of South Africa (North, Western and Southern Borders) and the people’s Republic of Mozambique on the east. Despite its size, the Kingdom of Swaziland has great climatic and scenic variety. The main food crops cultivated in the country are maize, sorghum, beans, groundnuts and vegetables. Also citrus and pineapple widely produced in the country.

The number of domestic plant species documented in 1996 was about 2900, including ornamental and medicinal plants. They feature thatch grasses (Themeda, triandra, Hyperthelia dissoluta, Hyparrrhenia spp., Cymbopogon excavatus), pasture species (Lotononis, Eleusine indica. Leersia hexandra, Aeschynomene, Alysicarpus, Sesbania, Desmodium, Brachiara), and traditional vegetables (Tulbaghia, Annesorrhiza, Mormodica, Aloe cooperi). Crop relatives and landraces documented in the country include Sesamum, Cerototheca, Sorghum, Cucurbitacea, Vigna, Arachis hypogea, zea mays, Phaseolus, Ipomea batatas,Manihot esculentus, Colocasia esculantus, Gossypium, Physalis.