17 March 2017: An intersessional working group under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGR) met in Rome, Italy, to continue discussing options for enhanced benefit-sharing regarding the use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. Participants discussed, among other issues, a draft for a revised Standard Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA).

The sixth meeting of the Ad hoc Open-ended Working Group (OEWG) to Enhance the Functioning of the Multilateral System (MLS) considered: the coverage of the MLS, a draft for a revised SMTA, a “launch mechanism” to expand coverage of the MLS and generate income for the Treaty’s Benefit-sharing Funds (BSF); genetic information associated with material accessed from the MLS; and preparations for the seventh session of the ITPGR Governing Body (GB-7).

On coverage of the MLS, discussions focused on a substantive approach and legal mechanism to expand the set of crop species covered by the MLS, including species currently covered by the Treaty, but not the MLS, as well as related materials, such as crop wild relatives.

Discussions on a revised SMTA were based on a revised draft text reflecting previous discussions and submissions received from parties and stakeholders. Participants elaborated on an option to replace the current model of conditional benefit-sharing obligations with a subscription model based on up-front payments, as well as: rights and obligations of recipients of materials from the MLS; an alternative payment system; duration, termination and withdrawal; rates and modalities of payment; and terms and conditions of a subscription system.

Delegates also discussed the potential impact of bioinformatics and synthetic biology on the functioning of the MLS and its benefit-sharing mechanism. Regarding further work before GB-7, participants accepted an offer by Switzerland to host a meeting of informal consultations to prepare a package of measures to be proposed to GB-7.

The Working Group was established by GB-5 in 2013, with the mandate to develop measures to increase user-based payments and contributions to the BSF, as well as additional measures to enhance the functioning of the MLS. In 2015, GB-6 extended the mandate to elaborate a full draft revised SMTA with focus on a subscription system. The Working Group’s sixth meeting was held 14-17 March 2017, and GB-7 is tentatively scheduled to be held in October 2017 in Rwanda. [IISDRS Coverage of the Working Group] [ITPGR Website]