What is the ITC
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is organizing
the Fourth International Technical Conference on Plant Genetic Resources which
will be held in Leipzig, Germany, June 17 - 23, 1996.
The Conference is expected to adopt a Report on the State of the World's Plant Genetic Resources and a Global Plan of Action for the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. Plant genetic resources are the basis of world food security. They are used by farmers and scientists as the raw material for the breeding of new plant varieties and in biotechnology -- and are a reservoir of genetic diversity which acts as a buffer against environmental and economic change.
The Global Plan of Action will propose strategies for the conservation of plant genetic resources and their utilization in sustainable agriculture. It will set priorities for action and include costed programmes and projects to strengthen capacities at the community, national and regional levels. It will be concrete step towards the implementation of "Farmers' Rights", the International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources and the Convention on Biological Diversity. The Global Plan of Action will be drafted on the basis of a Report on the State of the World's Plant Genetic Resources .
The Global Plan of Action and the Report on the State of the World's Plant Genetic Resources are being developed through a country driven, participatory process, which is being coordinated through an FAO project, the International Conference and Programme for Plant Genetic Resources (ICPPGR), under the overall guidance of the FAO Commission on Plant Genetic Resources. The involvement of all relevant parties including non-governmental organizations, scientists, and farmers' organizations as well as governments is being encouraged. Country Reports will document the state of plant genetic resources nation by nation, describe national activities and assess gaps and needs. Synthesis reports will then be developed at a series of Regional and Sub-Regional Meetings during the second half of 1995. To promote the broadest participation in the preparatory process, a number of computer conferences have been established on an electronic Bulletin Board Network. Further information is also available in a series of Briefing notes and other documents.