In the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) session, talks on the enhancement of the Multilateral System (MLS) for the functioning of access and benefit sharing failed.

• The MLS governs the sharing of genetic resources from 35 major food crops and 29 forages.
  • These together make up about 80 per cent of the world’s plant-based diet and are described in Annexure 1 of the Treaty.
  • When a country adopts the ITPGRFA, it agrees to make the genetic diversity of these crops, particularly from public gene banks, available to all other members through the MLS.

Compromise proposal presented at the 11th session

• Adopting the revised standard material transfer agreement (SMTA), while deciding that adequate payment rates and thresholds will be approved at GB 12.
  • The SMTA regulates exchanges of plant genetic material, prevents their misuse, and ensures that any commercial benefits that arise are fairly and equitably shared. 
• Key issues like payment system, Annex I expansion, and Digital Sequence Information rules were postponed to the next meeting (GB12).

India’s Stand: India sought to safeguard sovereign rights and fair benefit-sharing, opposing the opaque draft and calling for all unresolved issues to be revisited at GB12.