3 Review(s)

Farmers' rights refer to rights arising from the past, present and future contributions of farmers in conserving, improving, and making available plant genetic resources, particularly those in the centres of origin/diversity. They are an important precondition for the maintenance of crop genetic diversity, which is the basis of all food and agricultural production worldwide. This educational module explains the foundation of the concept, tracing its genesis as a political notion developed by civil society activists. It outlines the important, though largely uncompensated, role played by farmers and local and indigenous communities in the conservation and sustainable management of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, and gives examples of how it has been implemented in several countries. Farmers' rights is the fifth in a series of educational modules being developed under the coordination of the Secretariat of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture to strengthen capacities for implementation of the treaty. The modules are aimed at all treaty stakeholder groups, from policy makers and their staff to gene bank staff, plant breeders, farmers' organizations and other civil society organizations.