In the battle for securing a larger share of the world's genetic diversity, the ubiquitous farmer seems to have emerged as the unlikely winner, reports sumita dasgupta
the Fourth International Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Resources convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization (fao) in Leipzig, Germany, from June 17-23 , was dogged by criticisms even before the curtains were actually raised on it. The representatives of the 148 nations who met there to forge an agreement on the relentless loss of plant genetic diversity -- essential for the planet's food security -- were so sharply divided on some of the most vital issues in the agenda that prospects of reconciliation on any front seemed like a distant dream. But while those seven days witnessed debates which grew increasingly warmer and discussions that carried on literally from dawn to dusk, the final outcome was better than expected.
"The rights of the farmers are now recognised, by consensus, by the international community and are a part of a global charter. This is a major achievement for all developing nations, especially India, where a giant section of the population depends on agriculture," enthuses K P S Chandel, director, national bureau of plant genetic resources, who was a part of the Indian delegation to Leipzig. The 'charter' is the global plan of action (gpa) for the conservation and sustainable utilisation of plant genetic resources conceived by the fao in 1993 ( Down To Earth , Vol 5, No 4). After the week-long event, the delegates adopted the Leipzig Declaration -- a 12-point political statement alongwith the delicately balanced gpa of which farmers' rights was one of the most prominent features.
It is important to recognise the full implications of this development. So far, the subject of farmers' rights has been talked about at all the relevant international conferences but was never followed up by any concrete measures. It remained a largely unelaborated concept. Said Suman Sahai, convenor of Gene Campaign, an activist group which has had its attention focussed on this issue, "The gpa needed to go beyond this to be taken really seriously."
And it did, at least to a certain degree. It adopted farmers' rights as defined in a formal resolution passed by the fao in 1989. This not only endorses rights arising from "the past, present and in the future, contributions of farmers in conserving, improving and making available plant genetic resources", but also vows to allow farmers to participate fully in the 'benefits' derived at present and later from their improved use. And what is most significant is that an international fund is now going to be set up -- to be fed by the developed countries-- which would compensate farmers who opt to go in for on-farm conservation of rarer varieties of plants that would not otherwise fetch them a profit in the market.
The conference also reaffirmed the commitments for "new and additional" funding to support conservation of genetic resources, which "should come" mainly from the developed countries. According to R B Singh, director of the New Delhi-based Indian Agricultural Research Institute (iari) and the Indian heavyweight in Leipzig, this was a major achievement for the developing block. 'Funding' was the most contentious issue on the table. On the second day of the conference, a contact group was established which deliberated behind closed doors the issue of 'financing' of the gpa. Asia was represented by India and Malaysia. "It was a tough battle, with the us delegate passing remarks like 'the donor countries could not sign a blank cheque'," said Chandel who was part of the group. The temperature rose sharply as the Southern block pointed out that protection of the planet's biodiversity was not an issue which merely served their interest, but that of the entire humankind as a whole. Industrialised countries would, therefore, not really be doing them a favour if they churned out more funds. Heated dialogues followed and the chair was forced to intervene at one stage. In the end, both the camps agreed to certain compromises on the actual wording of the gpa. "But we did succeed in putting in the term 'new and additional' funding in the final draft," declares a jubilant Chandel.
The other significant issue was that of access to plant genetic resources stored in seed banks and laboratories in the North but which actually originated in the forests of the South. While the us vigorously pushed for the necessity of "unrestricted access" in order to maintain world food security, it faced stiff opposition from a giant majority. Most of the nations, including developed nations like Japan, expressed serious reservations about allowing the private sector or more specifically the multinationals free access to these collections. They demanded that on this front the stand of the un Convention on Biological Diversity, which confers upon the nation states sovereign rights over their genetic resources, must be taken into account. The issue remained largely unresolved till the end.
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