Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 32 Page 33 Page 34 Page 35 Page 36 Page 37 Page 38 Page 39 Page 40 Page 41 Page 42 Page 43 Page 44 Page 45 Page 46 Page 47 Page 48 Page 49 Page 50 Page 51 Page 52 Page 53 Page 54 Page 55 Page 56 Page 57 Page 58 Page 59 Page 60 Page 61 Page 62 Page 63 Page 64 Page 65 Page 66 Page 67 Page 68EUROPEAN-SEED.COM I EUROPEAN SEED I 21 Body to draft a revision to the sMTA, focusing on developing a subscription system for plant genetic resources for food and agriculture contained in the Multilateral System, and to elaborate options for adapting the coverage of the Multilateral System based on different scenarios and income projections. The seed industry is actively participating in this important process through two representatives and by submitting a variety of written contributions. ‘DEMATERIALIZATION’ AND INCREASING SEED VALUE Characterizing genetic material at the genotypic, phenotypic and accession level in order to identify new sources of genetic variation is very much needed to increase the options and inputs that breeders, researchers and farmers need to adapt our most important food crops under changing production conditions. These needs are being addressed with increasing effectiveness by the convergence of ever more cost-effective, rapid and efficient characterization techniques at the genotypic, phenotypic and accession level of genetic resources on the one hand and the increasing computational capacities for processing and utilizing the resulting big data sets in modern plant science and breeding on the other. I have tried to describe the aggregate effects of some of these advances as the ‘dematerialization’ of the use of genetic resources. By this, I mean the increasing trend for the information and knowledge content of genetic material to be extracted, processed and exchanged in its own right, detached from the physical exchange of the plant genetic material: value is increasingly created at the level of the processing and use of such information and knowledge. The advances of plant genomics, in particular, have shifted the balance of value of material and knowledge. Besides the accelerating speed of technological innovation which derives from these trends and needs to be reflected in relevant legal frameworks in order for plant breeding to advance with legal certainty, the challenges for the Treaty resulting from these trends include that breeding is no longer so focused on plant genetic material as raw materials. Only by also addressing the non-material values of genetic resources, for example through its Global Information System of the Treaty, can the Treaty continue to add value for breeders, scientists and farmers and remain a dynamic framework which facilitates and governs the ongoing innovative uses of plant genetic resources – also at the level of their epistemic value, i.e. their information and knowledge values, including characterization data, genomic data, traits and even environmental data. The Treaty is already addressing the dematerialization of the use of genetic resources through the vision paper and ongoing implementation processes of its Global Information System; Genesys and Divseek, which the Treaty co-developed together with the Global Crop Diversity Trust and other partners; and the definition of new data standards which will make it easier for breeders and others to exchange, access and interpret such data. The Treaty and FAO are thus helping the international community to identify new opportunities and the challenges in the dematerialization trends of genetic resource utilization and they play an important custodianship role. Some of these opportunities and challenges are to increase and improve the existing partnerships between plant breeders, seed gene banks, curators, scientists, farmers and donors on one side and on the other to strengthen the global technical and policy framework for the big data that is being generated from the study of food and agricultural crops. A great proportion of the accessions held in gene bank collections worldwide will soon be genetically characterized in detail, many by DNA sequencing and thus increasing the seed value. Large projects on rice, maize and wheat are underway, and they will soon be followed by more specialised collections and other crops of major importance for food security. The use of the new technologies may assist plant breeders to make the breeding results more predictable and has the potential to shorten plant breeding. Genomics is a game changer and the increasing availability and easy access to modern DNA sequencing technologies puts high-density genotyping in the reach of almost everyone, everywhere. The near future will bring whole genome reference sequences for dozens of crop species and hundreds of varieties. Also, to enable data sharing through the Global Information System of the Treaty (the GLIS), the issue of intellectual property rights of genomic data, in particular, whole genome DNA sequence data, of food crops must be addressed. PGRFA holders producing genomics data and, including DNA sequence data, from the material that is available in the global gene pool of the Treaty should be put in a position to make this information publicly available. A set of clear and transparent agreed rules may act as a powerful incentive for the sharing of added-value information in this domain. In this context, the FAO and the international community are seeking to ensure that these scientific advances reach the maximum number of stakeholders, breeders, farmers and consumers. While the generation of seed sequences can be readily outsourced, capacity needs to be built for the generation and interpretation of the new data related to seeds. Advances in genomics have the potential to enhance the scope and efficiency of plant breeding and FAO is acting as an honest broker in supporting countries to consider the impact of the technologies in the mechanisms designed to share the benefits derived from the use of the material. THE TREATY AND THE NAGOYA PROTOCOL The text of the Treaty emphasizes the importance of working in collaboration with the CBD, a matter that has been on the agenda of all Governing Body sessions. The Nagoya Protocol and the Treaty are part of the international regime on access and benefit- sharing, but the Treaty is specialized in plant genetic resources for food and agriculture and is liaising closely with the secretariat of the CBD on the interfaces with the Nagoya Protocol. Current activities are related to the identification of legal barriers that prevent data sharing and to possible incentives for users to contribute data. EVOLVING SYSTEMS AND REGULATIONS T he T reat y is a cor nerstone of the international architecture set up to respond to the urgent need to address the issues of biodiversity loss which facilitates access to the wider global gene pool of plant genetic resources for research, training and breeding. The GLIS is creating connections to key information, including links to genotypic and phenotypic information. As the international legal landscape for protecting agricultural biodiversity develops, the Treaty has a particular interest in working closely with the CBD and the Nagoya Protocol, as recognized by the Governing Body at its sixth session, during which some areas for improved collaboration were identified. The Governing Body acknowledged the need for continued capacity-building support to contracting parties for the mutually “PLANT GENETIC RESOURCES ARE THE FOUNDATION OF PLANT BREEDING AND A RESERVOIR OF GENETIC DIVERSITY.” Photo courtesy CIAT/N. Palmer