March 2013: The Secretariat of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGR) has circulated the report of the seventh meeting of the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee on the Funding Strategy, held from 18-20 September 2012, in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Advisory Committee on the Funding Strategy advises the ITPGR Governing Body on: resource mobilization efforts; the operation of the Benefit-sharing Fund; and the monitoring of the implementation of the overall Funding Strategy. The Committee noted that parties were not meeting the targets they had set for themselves in the Strategic Plan for the implementation of the Benefit-sharing Fund, and advised the Governing Body to begin, at its next session, an exploration of all possible measures, including innovative approaches that could address the shortfall.

The Committee further noted the successful mobilization of resources through cultivation events under the Strategic Plan, and requested the Secretary to further carry out the cultivation activities of the Strategic Plan. It called for a report synthesizing the main results and success stories of the first project portfolio under the Benefit-sharing fund; provided advice on the review of operational procedures and the design and structure of the third call for proposals; and requested the Secretariat to prepare a draft call for proposals. It further advised on the structure, contents and process to prepare the draft mid-term programmatic approach for the Benefit-sharing Fund, to be submitted to the Governing Body. [Publication: Report of the Seventh Meeting of the Ad Hoc Advisory Committee on the Funding Strategy]