Presentation by Dr Titilayo Adebola at the Second Global Symposium on Farmers Rights
Despite the adoption of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (TPGRFA) on 3 November 2001, and its entry into force on 29 June 2004, the full implementation of Article 9 on farmers’ rights has garnered limited traction and attention. Strengthening opportunities for cooperation, collaboration and partnerships is crucial to advancing farmers’ rights. But first, how would we conceptualise farmers rights?
In recognition of the essence of this Symposium, I set out the definition of farmers’ rights from Article 9 of the ITPGRFA. Article 9.1 of the ITPGRFA states that Contracting Parties recognise the enormous contribution that the local and indigenous communities and farmers of all regions of the world, particularly those in the centres of origin and crop diversity, have made and will continue to make for the conservation and development of plant genetic resources which constitute the basis of food and agriculture production throughout the world. Article 9.2 provides that the Contracting Parties agree that the responsibility for realising farmers’ rights, as they relate to plant genetic resources for food and agriculture, rests with national governments. In accordance with their needs and priorities, each Contracting Party should, as appropriate, and subject to its national legislation, take measures to protect and promote farmers’ rights, including: (i) Protection of traditional knowledge relevant to plant genetic resources for food and agriculture; (ii) The right to equitably participate in sharing benefits arising from the utilisation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture; and (iii) The right to participate in making decisions, at the national level, on matters related to the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. Article 9.3 further provides that nothing in Article 9 shall be interpreted to limit any rights that farmers have to save, use, exchange and sell farm-saved seed/propagating material, subject to national law and as appropriate. The broad scope of farmers rights alongside the deference to national governments for their implementation, creates space for creative and contextually appropriate farmers rights frameworks.
Stakeholders involved in the implementation of farmers rights include farmers, farmer organisations, civil society organisations, activists/advocates such as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, academics, research institutions, private sector, national governments alongside international organisations including the Secretariat of the ITPGRFA and the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
In particular, I emphasised the work of Professor Michael Fakhri, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food, in promoting farmers’ rights, including his Report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/49/43) on Seeds, Right to Life and Farmers Rights. The Report underscores the importance of advancing farmers rights in line with Article 9 of the ITPGRFA as well as the intersections of farmers rights in the ITPGRFA and other human rights instruments including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other Peoples Working in Rural Areas.
The Special Rapporteur notes that the ITPGRFA is a significant advancement in fulfilling people’s human rights. First, it recognises the importance of farmers’ seed systems and the enormous contribution that the local and indigenous communities and farmers throughout the world, particularly those in centres of origin and crop diversity, have made and will continue to make for the conservation and development of plant genetic resources which constitute the basis of food and agriculture production throughout the world. Second, the ITPGRFA recognises farmers’ rights as a sovereign responsibility and directs contracting parties to protect and promote farmers’ rights. Third, the ITPGRFA enumerates farmers’ rights and considers this enumeration as fundamental to the realisation of those rights at the national and international levels.
The Special Rapporteur recommends, and I agree, that Member States of the United Nations should: (i) Recognise, support and reward smallholder farmers/peasants and indigenous peoples as stewards of seed systems for all of humankind; (ii) Invest in research and development to maintain and build sustainable farmers’ seed systems; (iii) Avoid any funding, training and technical or capacity-building exclusively focused on commodity seed systems; (iv) Develop and interpret their seed and plant variety protection laws and policies based on the fact that fully realised farmers’ rights are a precondition for any type of fair economic system. In addition, Member States should ensure that their national laws: (i) Recognise farmers’ rights as human rights; (ii) Establish farmers’ rights as the fundamental aspect of their national seed system; (iii) In cases of national systems comprised of farmers’ and commodity seed systems, conduct regular human rights impact assessments; (iv) Prioritise the full realization of farmer’s rights.
Crucially, I drew attention to the importance of cooperation at multiple levels, regional, South-South, South-North, and North-South. Practical and accessible exchanges amongst countries are critical for identifying avenues to implement Article 9 of the ITPGRFA and advancing farmers’ rights. Such cooperation should also address the challenge of navigating fragmented instruments and institutions at both international and national levels, which often create obstacles to coherent action.
Notably, there is a pressing need to promote multidisciplinary and multistakeholder research and development around farmers’ varieties and traditional knowledge on plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. This is especially vital given the range of global challenges that directly affect agriculture and food systems, including those relating to health, climate change, new and emerging technologies such as digital sequence information (DSI), population growth, and rural–urban migration. Connecting research and development undertaken in universities and research institutes with farmers, and ensuring that technology, knowledge and innovations flow reciprocally, will be vital to strengthening the practical realisation of farmers’ rights.
Countries can also make greater use of the tools developed under the ITPGRFRA framework, particularly the “Inventory of National Measures, Best Practices and Lessons Learned from the Realisation of Farmers’ Rights” and the “Options for Encouraging, Guiding and Promoting the Realisation of Farmers’ Rights.” These resources provide a valuable basis from which countries can identify practices to adapt, replicate, and learn from in their own contexts.
Nevertheless, several challenges remain. Limited resources at the ITPGRFA Secretariat, as well as at other international, regional and national levels, continue to hamper progress on implementing farmers rights. The policy space available for implementing and advancing farmers’ rights in many Global South countries is also constrained for a variety of reasons. For instance, sovereign debt burdens, and the conditionalities attached to debt restructuring, place severe limits on state capacity. Similarly, the obligations arising from trade and economic partnership agreements can sometimes conflict with the advancement of farmers’ rights, creating difficult policy trade-offs for governments.
Conclusion and Ways Forward
In light of these challenges, I have offered key pathways forward. Beyond designing and implementing effective farmers’ rights laws, Contracting Parties to the ITPGRFA should also address tensions and conflicts with other laws and agreements, such as seed laws, trade/ economic instruments, and bilateral agreements. There is also a need to enhance the visibility of the ITPGRFA and its Secretariat globally, ensuring that its role and relevance are better understood by all stakeholders in farmers’ rights ecosystems. Addressing financing and policy space constraints is critical, as is the promotion of cooperation and collaboration across South–South, South–North, and North–South contexts. Finally, informed and accessible capacity-building, training, technical advice, and the exchange of knowledge and information must be pursued with renewed commitment.
The realisation of farmers’ rights requires concerted actions at international, regional, and national levels. With the current framing of Article 9 of the ITPGRFA, countries must take the lead in shaping and implementing farmers’ rights in ways that are innovative, inclusive, and context sensitive. It is no longer sufficient to rely on rhetoric. Contracting Parties to the ITPGRFA and other core stakeholders must consciously and conscientiously move towards constructive and concrete action plans that give real effect to the aspirations embodied in the Treaty.
