The first Meeting of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA) acting as the Interim Committee for the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGR) was held from 9-11 October 2002, at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) headquarters in Rome.

Approximately 280 participants from 99 countries and intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations attended the meeting.
The Interim Committee was convened to: adopt its rules of procedure; consult with the International Agricultural Research Centres (IARCs) on the agreements to be signed with the Treaty’s Governing Body; agree on the terms of reference (TOR) for the expert group on the terms of the standard Material Transfer Agreement (MTA); and initiate cooperative arrangements with the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
During the Committee’s first session, delegates adopted the rules of procedure for the Interim Committee and established an open-ended expert working group to propose draft rules of procedure and financial rules, and draft procedures for compliance. They also finalized the TOR for the expert group on the MTA. The other elements of the work programme, namely consultation with the IARCs, international cooperation and the funding strategy for the Treaty will be considered at the second session of the Interim Committee, which is to be held by 2004. The Earth Negotiations Bulletin report outlining these discussions in detail can be found at: http://enb.iisd.org/linkages/vol09/enb09245e.html