Islands Business - Agriculture: EFFORTS TO CONSERVE PACIFIC’S CROPS

Need for continued access to genetic resources

Some 30 representatives from 13 Pacific countries met on 22-24 May in Fiji for a landmark regional workshop on plant and animal genetic resources for food and agriculture.

Garlanded... Alma Taylor of Fiji’s Ministry of Agriculture and John Gibson of University of New England at the opening of the regional workshop.

It was hosted by the Australian Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Land Resources Division of the Secretariat for the Pacific Community (SPC).

Ask any taro grower in Fiji, or any Papua New Guinean highlander in her sweet potato patch, or a Kiribati woman weaving pandanus, you will be surprised to find they can be able to name many varieties and breeds of each of these crops and livestock: valuable, but often overlooked, genetic resources.

These are times of rapid change—in the physical environment, in our floras and faunas and in our societies.

Will our crops and our livestock cope with global warming, new pest and diseases, and new consumer tastes?

If Pacific agriculture is to be resilient in the face of these challenges, Pacific islanders need continued access to a wide range of genetic resources for farmers, agronomists and breeders to diversify and increase production, improve quality, and adapt to change.

During the plant genetic resources workshop, participants focused on a new global initiative which will have a strong impact on how these important resources are accessed in the future: the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources (POGR) for Food and Agriculture.

The treaty was negotiated under the auspices of the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and came into force in 2004.

Over 100 countries have ratified the treaty, including Australia and three Pacific Islands countries—the Cook Islands, Kiribati and Samoa.

The treaty provides a binding framework for the conservation, sustainable use and exchange of plant genetic resources to promote global food security.

It also attempts to resolve long-standing issues over how the benefits derived from the use of genetic resources can be shared equitably. The system of access and benefit sharing that the treaty will establish will include the crop varieties held in “genebanks” by countries that ratify the treaty.

The Treaty currently covers 35 food crops, including the Pacific staples such as banana, breadfruit, cassava, coconut, sweet potato, taro, and yams.

There are national collections of varieties of these different crops in many Pacific countries, as well as at the SPC’s Regional Germplasm Centre.

“The treaty will affect the way plant genetic resources for food and agriculture are exchanged in the foreseeable future,” said one participant.

“What we all need to understand are the rights and obligations of the parties to the treaty to get the most out of the new global arrangements.”

The workshop provided an opportunity for participants to take stock of how to access crop genetic resources for agricultural production and research. It builds upon the extensive work done in this area by SPC through its Regional Germplasm Centre and the Pacific Agricultural Plant Genetic Resources Network (PAPGREN).

Frazer Bule, Director of Research at the Ministry of Agriculture in Vanuatu and a regional expert on plant genetic resources, said, “the workshop has been a valuable opportunity for experts and government officials to weigh the pros and cons of the treaty and discuss how we can help each other strengthen our management of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture in the Pacific Islands states. We are going through the discussion process in Vanuatu now.”

To address some of the issues arising from the workshop, a follow-up project will be carried out by SPC which will include producing a short film aimed at raising awareness of the importance of PGR conservation and use in the Pacific and the role of the ITPGRFA.

The workshop on animal genetic resources discussed the preparation of the “FAO’s 1st World Report on the State of Animal Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture”.

This report is to be launched at a World Conference in September 2007 and will set the baseline for establishing global and regional priorities to address the conservation and sustainable utilisation of animal genetic resources for food and agriculture.

Workshop participants presented reports on the status of animals used for food and agriculture in their countries. The workshop resolved that urgent action was required to address the impoverishment of the genetic pool of livestock in the Pacific Islands region.

“Participants recognised the importance of this issue and worked hard at the workshop to develop recommendations on how to address animal genetic resources issues,” said SPC’s Peter Manueli.

The outcomes from the workshop will form the basis of a regional input to the FAO World Report process.

“Australia has indicated that it is keen to further assist the Pacific Islands based on the specific needs identified at both workshops,” Manueli added.

• For enquiries please contact: Plant Genetic Resources: Luigi Guarino - SPC, Suva, Fiji (luigig@spc.int); Animal Genetic Resources: Ken Cokanasiga - SPC, Suva, Fiji (kenc@spc.int)