August 2013: Participating in a meeting of the Agricultural Council of Central America (CAC), six Ministers and two Vice-Ministers of Agriculture noted the importance of the Strategic Action Plan for Mesoamerica, developed in the framework of the Benefit-sharing Fund of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGR), and declared their intention to incorporate it into their national agendas.

The Ministers also instructed the Council’s Secretariat to facilitate the integration of the ITPGR Strategic Action Plan into the framework of the complementary initiatives in the region, including the Thematic Group on Climate Change and the Central American Integration System of Agricultural Technology (SICTA). The Strategic Action Plan was funded by the ITPGR Benefit-sharing Fund and implemented by Bioversity International, in cooperation with many leading national institutions in the region. Seven Strategic Action Plans, involving 25 countries across Africa, Latin America and Asia, have been approved for funding under the current, second round of the project cycle of the Benefit-sharing Fund.

The overall objective of this cycle is to help ensure sustainable food security by assisting farmers to adapt to climate change through a targeted set of high impact activities on the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. [ITPGR Press Release]