On Saturday, 17 October 2009, in the prelude to the twelfth regular session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA-12), a special information seminar was held at the headquarters of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome, Italy, titled “Policy Arrangements for Access and Benefit-Sharing for Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.” Participants addressed the status and challenges of access and benefit-sharing (ABS), with presentations on the: status of the negotiations on the international regime on ABS; food security and ABS; recent developments in intellectual property law and policies; and the impact of climate change on genetic resources for food and agriculture.

There was also a panel discussion on the use and exchange of genetic resources for food and agriculture, which includes the domains of plant, animal, forest and microbial genetic resources and biological control agents.
Link to further information
IISD RS coverage of the seminar