03/10/2024

Ninth Meeting of the Ad Hoc Technical Committee on Conservation and Sustainable Use
of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ACSU) 

Rome, Italy, 1-3 October 2024 – The Ad Hoc Technical Committee on Conservation and Sustainable Use of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ACSU) of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture met for the ninth time to discuss key challenges and strategies related to plant genetic resource conservation.

The meeting, which was held online, brought together 46 experts, stakeholders, and representatives from 25 countries.  The Committee, under the leadership of the Co-chairs Ms Patricia Gadaleta (Argentina) and Mr Pesach Lubinsky (USA), made progress on advancing significant tasks that are scheduled for finalization at future meetings.

The discussion included a proposal from the Latin America and Caribbean regional group on a mechanism to identify the status of implementation of Articles 5 and 6 of the International Treaty, to support the Contracting Parties that need assistance with regard to their specific contexts and local needs. This proposal will be further discussed and refined at the next session of the ACSU in 2025.

The Committee also reviewed approaches to address the bottlenecks identified in the implementation of Articles 5 and 6, particularly focusing on a draft voluntary guidelines outline.

Partners from other FAO divisions, as well as the Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT, the Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group on Farmers’ Rights Co-Chairs, and the Crop Trust also presented their work and experiences in relation to the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA), and discussed opportunities to strengthen cooperation toward shared objectives.

The Committee will continue to advance its work across all areas to present at the Eleventh Session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty.

@PlantTreaty

 #ItAllStartsWithTheSeed