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.