Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations  
International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

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    The Inventory

    This online version of the Inventory presents, for each measure, the title and a brief description with information on implementing organization(s), start year, objectives, core elements, key outcomes, and, if applicable, lessons learned. It thus allows users to quickly identify those examples that may be of interest to them. A hyperlink to the original submission is provided, which includes additional information, such as on the history and context of the presented measure, challenges encountered, or target groups reached. In this way, users can get a more comprehensive idea of the measure in question and the specific context for which it was developed.
     
    To facilitate navigation, the Inventory is subdivided into eleven categories. Measures or practices that fall under more than one category are listed under each one that applies. Furthermore, information is provided on the type(s) of measures that are typically involved, such as technical, administrative, legal, and/or others, and on the relevant sub-article of Article 9 that is addressed. Additional search options allow searching by country, region, free text and keyword.
     
     
     
     
     
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    Number of records: 233

    121) Community-based agrobiodiversity systems for the realisation of Farmers’ Rights

    The Development Fund (DF) has supported local initiatives on conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources and the strengthening of Farmers’ Rights for almost two decades in collaboration with local partners in Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Nepal, Ethiopia and Malawi. These programmes, designed in a collaborative way involving farmers’ and civil society organizations and research institutes, started between 2003 and 2009. The main objective was to strengthen community-based agrobiodiversity systems in order to improve food security and climate adaptive capacity. The programmes followed a holistic approach, and included measures such as Participatory Plant Breeding, Participatory Variety Selection, recovery and rehabilitation of lost varieties, Community Seed Banks, capacity building on Farmers’ Rights, participation of farmers in decision-making, and advocacy at local, national and international level. Main outcomes were improved food security and livelihoods among poor rural households. More than 46,000 farmers and their families increased their access to seeds through a network of 81 Community Seed Banks. Sixty-nine new varieties were developed through Participatory Plant Breeding, resulting in increased yields for maize, beans, sorghum, rice and wheat by at least 25%. Civil society and farmer organizations gained space in decision-making at local level, and in some cases at national level.

    Category: 6.Facilitation of farmers’ access to a diversity of PGRFA through community seed banks, seed networks and other measures improving farmers’ choices of a wider diversity of PGRFA.

    Type of measure/practice: Technical

    122) Decree-Law 291/2012 Official Gazette of Cuba and Policy on Seeds and Plant Genetic Resources

    In 2012, the Government of Cuba published Decree-Law 291/2012 on Plant Variety Protection; Article 4 states that the breeder may be a natural or legal person, and that one or more such entities can be holders of rights, including for example agricultural production cooperative(s) or basic unit(s) of cooperative production. This is a form of intellectual property right granted to the breeder(s) of a new plant variety, including participating farmer cooperatives. Furthermore, a Seed Directorate was established in 2011 under the Ministry of Agriculture; its competencies were expanded, leading to the establishment of the Seed and Plant Genetic Resources Directorate in 2015. These changes have motivated a review of the entire legal basis targeting seeds and plant genetic resources in Cuba. The new Seeds and Plant Genetic Resources Policy, reflecting this development, was approved in July 2018; work is currently underway to draft a Decree-Law and regulations to implement the policy and address those articles of the ITPGRFA that have so far not been covered, including Article 9. It can be concluded that work is being done to review and update the legal basis, which will facilitate actions at the national level with support from local governments.

    Category: 10.Legal measures for the implementation of Farmers’ Rights, such as legislative measures related to PGRFA.

    Type of measure/practice: Administrative; Legal

    123) Participatory plant breeding in Cuba

    The national agricultural research organization Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Agrícolas (INCA), in collaboration with several other public research institutes, universities, NGOs, local government units and financial support by the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), has engaged in participatory plant breeding (PPB) since 1999. The first project started with few farmers from three municipalities in two provinces, and was expanded to 11 provinces. Initially, it covered only beans and maize, and later, it included other crops such as, grains, vegetables, fruit trees, roots and tubers. Core components of PPB include collaboration between farmers and scientists. Farmers are actively involved in priority setting, selection, evaluation, and dissemination activities. The resulting varieties are adapted to local soil and climate conditions. Hundreds of varieties distributed to the farmers and today form part of the Cuban ‘agricultural landscape’. The initiative generated a national movement favoring local innovation and demonstrated the potentials of empowering farming communities in terms of quantity and quality crop production. Farmers’ involvement in the selection and experimentation work has also facilitated the revaluation of their knowledge, inducing reforms in the research sector and higher education system in Cuba.

    Category: 7.Participatory approaches to research on PGRFA, including characterization and evaluation, participatory plant breeding and variety selection

    Type of measure/practice: Technical; Administrative

    124) Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001

    The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Right Act, 2001 (PPV&FR Act) is an Act of the Parliament of India to establish an effective system for the protection of plant varieties, the rights of farmers and plant breeders, and to encourage the development and cultivation of new varieties of plants. The Act safeguards the interest of farmers/communities/rural/tribal peoples who are engaged in the conservation and improvement of plant genetic resources through various provisions; for example, it recognizes farmers as breeders; they are entitled to be awarded, recognized and rewarded every year; farmers (women and men) and tribal peoples are represented in the standing committee of the PPV&FR Authority; farmers, as well as communities, are entitled for the registration of farmers’ varieties and for benefit-sharing through a national ‘Gene Fund’. Farmers further enjoy rights to save, use, sow, re-sow, exchange, share or sell their farm produce, including seed of a registered variety under the Act, but they are not entitled to sell branded seeds of such varieties. Guidelines were developed that address specific issues relating to the registration of farmer varieties, including ‘ownership’ of such varieties, degree of uniformity and exemptions from fees.

    Category: 10.Legal measures for the implementation of Farmers’ Rights, such as legislative measures related to PGRFA.

    Type of measure/practice: Administrative; Legal

    125) Recognizing farmers’ contributions by registering traditional varieties in the National Register of Varieties of Cuba (I)

    The national agricultural research institute Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Agrícolas (INCA) has been involved in several participatory plant breeding (PPB) projects between 1999 and 2006. In 2005, the first corn variety developed through PPB in Cuba was included in the official list of varieties under the name `Felo´. This variety was developed based on a combination of local materials by a member of the Cooperativa de Producción Agropecuaria (CPA) Gilberto León, municipality of San Antonio de los Baños in the province of Artemisa, where the first participatory corn breeding fair was held in June 1999. A process of mass selection (five cycles) followed, considering traits such as plant height, good closure of the ear and absence of fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda). A nutritional analysis showed satisfactory protein (9.0 and 9.3%) and starch (71 and 73%) contents. Yields obtained were around 3.4t/ha without fertilizer application. This example demonstrates the importance of varieties conserved by farmers for breeding purposes; among them, varieties of corn with high nutritional quality were identified, which have been developed in low-input production systems and without using techniques such as genetic engineering.

    Category: 1.Recognition of local and indigenous communities’, farmers’ contributions to conservation and sustainable use of PGRFA, such as awards and recognition of custodian/guardian farmers

    Type of measure/practice: Technical; Administrative