Global treaty talks on plant genetic resources have reignited concerns among scientists about weakening national sovereignty and farmers’ rights, as countries push to expand access to seeds and digital genetic data without firm benefit-sharing guarantees.
More than 65 government representatives have gathered in Lima, Peru this week to prepare for the 11th Session of the Governing Body (GB11) of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), scheduled to take place later this year.
One of the most contentious issues on the table is the proposed amendment to the Treaty that would fully expand the list of plants and genetic material included in Annex I for sharing under the Multilateral System of Access and Benefit-Sharing.
Full access, as opposed to a negotiated one, could seriously compromise a nation’s sovereign rights over its genetic resources, a group of scientists wrote in a letter to Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on July 9, 2025. It could override domestic legislation, such as India’s Biodiversity Act and undermine farmers’ rights to save, use, exchange and sell their farm-saved seeds, the letter said.
The 14th meeting of the Ad Hoc Open-ended Working Group, underway in Peru from July 7 to 11, 2025, is tasked with facilitating equitable access to and sharing of seeds and plant genetic resources for food and agriculture among Parties to the treaty.
India is co-chairing the talks and is a leading member of the Treaty.
The draft proposals also seek to alter the current framework for sharing profits derived from access to plant genetic resources. “Broadly speaking, developing countries are the providers of genetic resources, whereas developed countries are the users of these resources,” the scientists wrote.
They argued that the newly proposed payment rates and mechanisms for GB11 were inadequate and unlikely to generate funds that reflect the true value of the genetic diversity accessed.
Another gap the scientists highlighted relates to the dilution of sovereignty through the benefit-sharing mechanism for digital sequence information (dsi)/genetic sequence data (gsd). This refers to how benefits derived from the use of digitised genetic information from plant resources should be distributed.
“Diversity-rich countries like India argue that unrestricted access to DSI without explicit benefit-sharing mechanisms will facilitate digital biopiracy. It is difficult to trace the origin of DSI once it is uploaded to public databases. Developed countries and the seed industry want open access to DSI for research and innovation and advocate against mandatory payments,” the letter said.
The signatories to the letter — Soma Marla and Sarath Babu, both former principal scientists with Indian Council of Agricultural Research – National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources; Suman Sahai, chairperson of Gene Campaign and Dinesh Abrol, professor at the Institute of Studies in Industrial Development and former chief scientist at the National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies — noted that frustration was growing over the meagre contributions to the benefit-sharing fund, even as access to genetic resources continues and is expected to increase.
“Access to genetic material for users must be unequivocally linked to a proportionate increase in monetary benefit-sharing for provider countries and communities,” the scientists said.
Earlier this week, farmers’ groups, seed savers and environmental advocates also raised the alarm, warning that the proposed agreement lacks adequate safeguards for farmers’ rights. The 14th meeting is the final session of the Working Group, which must submit its outcome to the Governing Body of the Plant Treaty in November.