29 October 2013 - A seven-member Philippine Delegation composed of officials from the Department of Agriculture, University of the Philippines-Los Baños (UPLB), and Southeast Asia Regional Initiatives for Community Empowerment (SEARICE) participated in the 5th Session of the Governing Board of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources (ITPGR) for Food and Agriculture which was held from September 22 to 28 in Muscat, Oman.
More than 450 participants from other governments, non-governmental organizations and institutions attended the session.
Under the auspices of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the ITPGR is a legally binding instrument that targets the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA) and equitable benefit-sharing, in harmony with the 1992 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), for sustainable agriculture and food security.
The opening ceremony on September 24 took place under the patronage of H.H. Sayyid Shihab bin Tariq al Said, adviser to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said al Said, and the closing ceremony on September 28 was headed by Omani Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Fuad bin Jafar bin Al-Sajwani.
The Philippines, which served as documenter of the Asia Regional Group meetings, intensively participated in the discussion of the provisions of the treaty about multilateral system of exchange, standard material transfer agreement, measures to increase benefit sharing, funding strategy, relationship with the Convention on Biological Diversity, compliance and farmers’ rights. The Philippine delegation effectively advocated for the inclusion of measures that protect farmers’ rights such as to save, use, exchange, and sell farm-saved seed / propagating material.
The Asia Group selected Phildel Head and Director at the Bureau of Plant Industry Clarito Barron as the next Chair of the Asia Regional Group (ARG). As Chair of the ARG, he will sit as one of the vice-chairs of the Bureau in the 6th Session of the Governing Body in 2015. As to the Compliance Committee, which is a permanent committee of the Treaty, Ms. Amparo Ampil of the Philippines was elected as member of the said committee for a full term (4 years).
The Philippine Embassy in Muscat noted the importance of the conference in promoting opportunity for the Treaty and the agricultural sector as a whole to reposition themselves in the global framework of genetic resource governance with a view to more effectively contribute to global agricultural development and food security. END