FAO members OK treaty on plant genetic resources

FAO members OK treaty on plant genetic resources

Associated Press, Rome

An international treaty governing the use of plant genetic resources has been approved by 116 countries, with abstentions by the United States and Japan, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization announced Monday.

FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf told reporters at the agency's headquarters here that the treaty approved on Saturday in Rome would have to be ratified by the parliaments of at least 40 countries before coming into effect.

According to FAO, the treaty aims to ensure some benefits from use of plant genetic resources go to farmers in developing countries. Often the resources originate in poor, largely agricultural nations, but it is users in advanced nations which benefit the most from products developing out of this technology.

The treaty protects farmers' rights to save, use, exchange and sell locally produced seed.

The United States had abstained from voting because of concerns regarding provisions dealing with intellectual property rights, the U.S. Agriculture Secretary, Ann Veneman said.

Veneman, who was in Rome on Monday to meet with Diouf, spoke at a separate news conference.

Another U.S. concern, Veneman said, was that the list of 35 crops included in the treaty fell short of global food security needs.

The treaty has also been criticized by some. A group of activists, Civil Society Organizations, contended that it is "ambiguous" about ensuring that all farmers and breeders will have access to plant genetic resources.