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

    211) Safeguarding Farmers’ Rights in Swiss intellectual property law

    In Switzerland, national measures concerning intellectual property rights that are relevant in the context of Article 9.3 of the ITPGRFA include the Federal Law of 20 March 1975 on the Protection of New Varieties (status as of 1 January 2011) and the Federal Act of 25 June 1954 on Patents for Inventions (Patents Act, status as of 1 January 2019). The so-called ‘farmers’ privilege’, allowing farmers to save and use seed and propagation materials from their own harvest, including of protected varieties, was introduced into both Acts in a similar way in 2008. Farmers who wish to make use of the farmers’ privilege do not have to pay any remuneration to the holder of the right, provided that they have previously acquired original seed or planting material placed on the market by the holder of the plant breeders’ right or patent, or with his consent. So far, the Federal Council has determined 23 plant species to which the farmers’ privilege shall apply. Furthermore, Article 9.1 f. of the Patent Act protects farmers from excessive claims in cases where the patented genetic information was bred into his/her planting material without his/her knowledge or against his/her will (e.g. by wind-pollination).

    Category: 11.Other measures / practices

    Type of measure/practice: Legal

    212) Harnessing dryland legume and cereals genetic resource for food and nutrition security and resilient farming systems in Malawi and Zambia

    In 2019, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT), together with the Department of Agricultural Services (DARS) in Malawi, the Zambia Agricultural Research Institution (ZARI) and farmer associations in both countries, and with financial support by the Benefit-sharing Fund of the International Treaty, have started a project aiming to enhance food and nutrition security and resilient farming systems through use of grain legumes and cereal genetic resources. Core components include (1) capacity development of smallholder farmers to use local and improved varieties to achieve food and nutrition security to underpin resilience in the face of climate variability; and (2) evaluation of wide germplasm across the region capitalizing on the material from ICRISAT genebanks followed by participatory selection and breeding efforts. These activities will be supported by outreach activities such as trainings, demonstration trials, field days etc., giving farmer organizations a key role. The project follows a gender-sensitive approach by ensuring female participation in livelihood-strengthening activities, such as training on climate-smart agriculture approaches, appointing women to leadership positions in farmer organizations involved in technology development and testing, and by targeting women for training on income-generating activities and business development, including seed production.

    Category: 9.Training, capacity development and public awareness creation

    Type of measure/practice: Technical

    213) Ejere Farmer Crop Conservation Association (FCAS) and Community Seed Bank

    The Community Seed Bank (CSB) in Ejere, Ethiopia, attracts many visitors each year, from Ethiopia as well as abroad, who wish to learn about their achievements and success. Through conservation and participatory improvement of local crop diversity and related activities, the CSB has significantly improved seed and food security, nutrition and livelihoods in the whole area. Initiated by USC Canada in collaboration with the then Plant Genetic Resources Centre, Ethiopia, in 1990, the work was later taken over by the NGO Ethio-organic Seed Action, with support from the Development Fund, Norway. The objective is to promote sustainable climate-change adaptation among farmer communities through enhanced capacity to sustainably manage, develop and utilize local agrobiodiversity as an adaptive mechanism to climate change. Core components include reintroduction of traditional crops, conservation, participatory varietal selection to adapt promising crops to changing environmental conditions and improve desired properties, quality seed production and distribution, seed fairs, training in advanced organic production methods and income generating activities. The success of the CSB has been achieved, inter alia, through awareness raising, competent supervision, solid research prior to project planning, financial support over a sufficient period of time and a democratic and transparent organization with good governance.

    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; Administrative

    214) Protocol on in situ on-farm conservation of traditional crops

    In 2013, the Department of Agriculture developed a protocol for in situ on-farm conservation of traditional varieties of crops, which focuses on traditional varieties, farmer varieties and landraces. The protocol was formulated based on the experience and lessons gained from a previous project on in situ on-farm conservation of local crops (rice, yam, taro and sweet potato) funded under the Benefit Sharing Fund of FAO-ITPGRFA, executed by the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR) and implemented by the Institute of Crop Science, University of the Philippines Los Baños. The Protocol aims to provide guidance to stakeholders and institutionalize in situ on-farm conservation of traditional crops. The Protocol covers two main areas, technical (e.g. capacity development) and institutional (e.g. mainstreaming conservation and sustainability of traditional crop varieties in development plans at different administrative levels), and was agreed upon and adopted during a national stakeholders’ consultation attended by relevant national government agencies, including local government units, NGOs, civil society organizations and private companies. As a result, local government units expressed their willingness to conserve traditional varieties, continue the practice and provision of funds.

    Category: 9.Training, capacity development and public awareness creation

    Type of measure/practice: Technical; Administrative

    215) Recognition of farming communities through Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS)

    Since 2005, the Agricultural Planning, Economic and Rural Development Research Institute (APERDRI), a public research institute under the Ministry of Agriculture, together with the provincial local government units, farming communities and the World Agricultural Heritage Foundation (WAHF), have engaged in identifying Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) in Iran. The overall goal of GIAHS is to mobilize global recognition and national support for farmers’ and indigenous communities’ contributions to safeguarding and dynamically conserving agricultural biodiversity and their goods and services. In the course of the identification process, farming systems are assessed based on five criteria, including their contributions to (1) food and livelihood security; (2) biodiversity for food and agriculture ; (3) local and traditional knowledge systems; (4) culture, value systems and social organization; and (5) remarkable landscapes features. Farming systems that pass the assessment can be recognized as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Iran is a country with a long history of agricultural civilization; to date, three traditional agriculture: Saffron Qanat-based Agricultural Heritage System; Pomegranate Qanat irrigated Agricultural Heritage System; and MA layer Grape Production, are recognized as GIAHS sites.

    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; Others