FAO, Rome, Italy, 20th to 24th November 2023.

Regional and inter-regional consultations will take place during the weekend before the Session, 18th and 19th of November 2023.

At its tenth session, the Governing Body will review and adopt resolutions on the implementation of the International Treaty. Information and documents are available at the Treaty website.

Among the many important items at the agenda for this session of the Governing Body is Item 13  on Farmer’s Rights. In the period between 2017 and 2022, an Ad Hoc Technical Expert Group developed an inventory of national measures, best practices and lessons learned from the realization of Farmers’ Rights and a set of options for the encouraging, guiding and promoting the realization of these rights, which have been published by the Secretariat upon the request of the Governing Body. These two achievements were presented at a Global Symposium on Farmers’ Rights that was organized by the Government of India together with the Secretariat of the International Treaty in New Delhi in September 2023. In addition to exchanging views and experiences, major questions at this symposium were how to make use of these tools for the implementation of Farmers’ Rights related to crop genetic resources and what further steps the Governing Body of the International Treaty could take to promote the realization of these rights. The report from the Global Symposium on Farmers’ Rights will form a point of departure for the negotiations of further decisions to be taken by the Governing Body at its tenth session.

Furthermore, under Agenda Item 12, the Governing Body is invited to discuss the Conservation and Sustainable Use of PGRFA. An Ad Hoc Technical Committee on Conservation and Sustainable Use of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture has prepared a basis for this agenda item, and suggests inter alia the development of guidelines to remove bottlenecks to the implementation of the Treaty provisions on conservation and sustainable use of PGRFA; considering next steps for the realization of a joint programme on biodiversity for sustainable use of PGRFA; and more general provisions on recommendations relating to current work, future strategies and how to develop a mechanism that may assist countries in the implementation of the International Treaty in this regard. The Governing Body will consider these suggestions and adopt a resolution.

The Provisional Agenda with many further agenda items is online and other working and information documents have been and will be made available on the website of the International Treaty.