How to realize Farmers' Rights at the national level

How to realize Farmers' Rights at the national level

Photo: SAWTEE

How can you proceed to realize Farmers' Rights in your country, according to the provisions in the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture? What are the steps required? Taking the Treaty as point of departure, and based on the research carried out in the Farmers' Rights Project, we here offer a framework for implementation of Farmers' Rights at the national level with seven steps. Within this framework different avenues are possible, dependent on the needs and priorities in your country.

The first four steps are about how to design a constructive and fruitful implementation process. Particularly with Farmers' Rights, which involve and affect so many stakeholders, the process is crucial to ensuring good and lasting results. The last four steps are about the contents of Farmers' Rights, as derived from the International Treaty, and how they can be realized in practice. They start out with options on how to assess and improve the legislation and regulations in the country with regard to the legal space for farmers to conserve and sustainably use crop genetic diversity (Art. 9.1, 9.3 and Preamble). The next steps are about ensuring the protection of traditional knowledge, the participation in equitable benefit sharing and farmers' participation in decision making with regard to genetic resources (Article 9.2). A workshop module comprising these elements is offered for free use. It is aimed at bringing stakeholders together, broadening their understanding of the topic, framing a fruitful dialogue, identifying required measures, and providing inspiration for joint action.

Read more about:

Step 1: Creating awareness on the importance of Farmers' Rights

Step 2: Ensuring farmers' participation in the implementation process

Step 3: Developing a national consultative process, joining forces, pooling resources

Step 4: Establishing an institutional framework for implementation

Step 5: Protecting and enhancing legal space for farmers' customary practices

Step 6: Protecting traditional knowledge relevant to crop genetic resources

Step 7: Promoting the right to equitably participate in benefit sharing

Step 8: Enabling participation in decision making on genetic resources

Feedback is welcome
We invite our users to comment on this framework for implementation of Farmers' Rights, as well as inform us about experiences with its use. Also feedback on other exeperiences with implementation of Farmers' Rights are welcome. Contact >

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In this section:


	HOW TO REALIZE FARMERS' RIGHTS AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL
	Step 1: Creating awareness on the importance of Farmers' Rights
	Step 2: Ensuring farmers' participation in the implementation process
	Step 3: Developing a national consultative process, joining forces, pooling resources
	Step 4: Establishing an institutional framework for implementation
	Step 5: Protecting and enhancing legal space for farmers' customary practices
	Step 6: Protecting traditional knowledge relevant to crop genetic resources
	Step 7: Promoting the right to equitably participate in benefit sharing
	Step 8: Enabling participation in decision making on genetic resources