FAO Council Adopts Second Global Plan of Action for PGRFA
The Second Global Plan of Action (GPA) for Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA) was adopted by the Council of FAO on the 29th November, as a new global framework for the conservation and sustainable use of plant diversity as a key element in fighting poverty and achieving increased food security, in the face of climate change. The Second Global Plan of Action aims to accelerate the implementation of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGR), to which Ireland is a signatory, and strengthen conservation and sustainable use of plants and seed systems and the crucial linkages between them, through a combination of appropriate policies, use of scientific information, farmers’ knowledge and action.
The GPA contains priority activities based on consultations and the gaps and needs identified by the Second Report on the State of the World’s Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, and agreed under the aegis of FAO Commission Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA). It urges all countries to better manage crop diversity in farmers’ fields; and develop strategies to protect, collect and conserve crop wild relatives and wild food plants that are under threat, support use of a wider range of traits for plant breeding, and strengthen seed systems especially of locally adapted varieties. Ireland has submitted country progress reports to both State of the World’s Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture reports. The latest of which can be viewed here.
