WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONIP/C/W/376/Add.2
17 September 2002
(02-4931)
Council for Trade-Related Aspects
of Intellectual Property RightsOriginal:  English1/
                  French/                  Spanish
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES:  INFORMATION
FROM OTHER INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS
Addendum
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION
The present document reproduces the information on technical and financial cooperation
activities relevant to the implementation of the TR IPS Agreement, which has been received from the
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) by m eans of a communication dated 2 September 2002.
_______________
The present document reproduces the FAO's communication of 2 September 2002 and its
attachment (FAO brochure on capacity-building for trade on agriculture, fisheries and forestry).
                                                     
1 Attachment provided in English, French and Spanish.IP/C/W/376/Add.2
Page 2
Communication of Mr. Guiliano Pucci, Legal Counsel,
to the Chairman of the Council for TRIPS
Rome, 2 September 2002
Dear Mr. Pérez Motta,
I refer to your letter dated 22 July 2002 to the Director of the FAO Liaison Office in Geneva
requesting updated information on technical and financial cooperation programmes operated by the
Organization in the area of intellectual property th at are relevant to the implementation of the TRIPS
Agreement.
As you are aware, on 3 November 2001, the Thirty-first Session of the Conference of the
Organization adopted, by consensus and as a binding international agreement, the International Treaty
on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.  The Treaty is in harmony with the Convention
on Biological Diversity (CBD) and has a number of provisions of direct relevance to the matters being
addressed, under your chairmanship, by the Council for Trade-Related Aspects of IntellectualProperty Rights.  In particular, Article 9, for the first time in a binding international agreement, makes
provision for Farmers' Rights , in recognition of the collective innovation on which agriculture is
based.  A further important and innovative part of the Treaty is contained in Articles 10 to 13
(Part IV), which establish a Multilateral System of Access and Benefit-sharing  that applies to a list
of crops that cover about 80 per cent of the world's food calories intake from plants.
Indeed, I note that document IP/C/W/347 "R eview of the provisions of Article 27.3(b),
relationship between the TRIPS Agreement and the Convention on Biological Diversity and
protection of traditional knowledge and folklore" that is available on the website of the World Trade
Organization, provides extended information on the subject.
In addition, I am pleased to send you the attached brochure (in English, French and Spanish)
prepared by the Inter-departmental Task Force on WTO Agreements of the Organization, regrouping
concerned technical divisions and my Office.  It provides information on FAO's trade-related
capacity-building programme for Members.  The new programme, which is a successor to the
Umbrella Training Programme on the Urug uay Round Follow-up, addresses the particular
capacity-building concerns of individual countries, as well as regional and subregional groups in thecontext of the WTO Agreements, and in particular the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of
Intellectual Property Rights.  Governments will be able to choose from a menu of activities to create
the trade-related capacity-building programme be st suited to their own circumstances and needs.
External donors have indicated their intention to fund the activities described.
You may wish to note that, through both the Regular and Field Programmes, the Organization
(the Legal Office in cooperation with other responsible divisions) provide technical assistance to
governments as well as at regional and/or subregional levels, in the formulation of policies, strategies
and legislation in the field of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture and related matters.  Our
assistance to the Government of Syria continued in drafting new legislation to strengthen PlantGenetic Resources conservation and sustainable use.  This legal instrument recognizes and gives force
to farmer's rights and to rights of local communities, as well as to access and benefit-sharing.  It is the
first legislation to be drafted, under a project operated by the Organization, in line with the principles
and requirements established by the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and
Agriculture.IP/C/W/376/Add.2
Page 3
A draft legislation was also prepared for Oman in order to update the legislative and
regulatory regime governing citrus plant material.  Presently, a project funded by the Technical
Cooperation Programme of FAO is being executed in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea with
the objective of establishing a modern seed inspection system;  the project also includes reviewingand updating of seed basic law, related regulations and standards.
In 2002, several studies on plant genetic resources have been prepared:  " A Global Instrument
on Agro biodiversity:  The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources " was published as a FAO
Legal Paper Online on the Web.  A recent legal study on " Intellectual Property Rights in Plant
Varieties:  an overview with options for national governments " reviews and assesses existing
international legal regimes relating to intellectual pr operty rights in plant genetic resources, with a
specific focus on agricultural plant varieties.
Another legal study " Regulating Access to Germplasm:  A Comparative Study of the Role and
Implementation of Seed Laws and Plant Variety Protection " will be ready for publication in the
second half of 2002.  Describing the role of seed and plant variety protection legislation, it providesfor approaches on how to draft and implement seed laws and plant variety protection.
I am also pleased to announce that, during the last months, my Office has considerably
improved its comprehensive up-to-date computerized legislative database, FAOLEX.  Selected texts
of major significance pertaining to FAO's mandate, including Plant Genetic Resources, seeds andplant variety protection, have been included or summarized.
I hope that such information will enable the Council for Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual
Property Rights, under your chairmanship, to have  a picture as complete as possible of FAO's
technical assistance in this field.
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ATTACHMENT
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS -
BROCHURE ON "CAPACITY-BUILDING FOR TRADE ON
AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY"*
This brochure provides information on FAO's trade-related capacity-building programme for
Member Countries.  This new programme, which is a successor to the Umbrella Training Programme
on Uruguay Round Follow-up, addresses the particular capacity-building concerns of individual
countries, as well as regional and subregional groups in the context of the WTO Agreements relatingto food, agriculture, fisheries and forestry.  Countries will be able to choose from a menu of activities
to create the trade-related capacity-building prog ramme best suited to their own circumstances and
needs.
FAO has a long history of providing trade-related capacity-building to its Member Countries
(see back page).  The most frequent trade-related problems and weaknesses confronted by developing
countries include the following:
• administrative/legal/technical capacity to meet the requirements of WTO membership and
negotiations, including preparing notifications and complying with commitments;
• national policy formulation capacity in the agricultural, forestry, and fisheries sectors and
inadequate analytical capacity to assess the impact of alternative policy proposals beingnegotiated at WTO;
• scientific, administrative and infrastructure capability to deal with food standards, plant and
animal health inspection services and quality assurance requirements in major markets;
• lack of plant variety protection and the necessity to rapidly develop such protection through
patents or sui generis legislation, by all WTO Members, including developing countries with
no prior experience in this area;  and
• supply-side constraints which limit the ability of developing countries to compete effectively
in the global marketplace.
The following grid gives an overall review of the different disciplines covered by the various
WTO Agreements and the corresponding FAO areas of technical expertise.  Each cell illustrates some
of the specific issues that fall in each area.  Countries can choose from among these areas those most
relevant to their concerns.  They can request FAO assistance on a specific issue within a single cell of
this grid, or on a complete set of issues in a row or column, or comprehensive assistance on all areasof FAO competence.
                                                     
* The following pages reproduce the printed version of the brochure.IP/C/W/376/Add.2
Page 5
WTO agreements relating to food, ag riculture, fisheries and forestry
AoA2SPS3TBT4TRIPS5
Food Food safety
(Codex)Food quality and
Labelling
(Codex)Trademarks
Geographical
indications
Patents
GMOs
Agriculture –
CropsPlant health
Environment,
etc.Ecolabelling
Organic farming
Agriculture –
AnimalsImplementation
issues relating to the
AoA and issues in
the context of the
multilateral trade
negotiations,
including impact
assessments on trade,
food security and
rural development.Animal
healthAnimal welfare,
Traceability
Fisheries Fish safety
CodexFish quality and
Ecolabelling
Codex
Forestry
Risk analysis
IPPC EcolabellingBreeders' rights
Farmers' rights
Access to genetic
resources
Patent protection
for agricultural
chemical productsFAO areas of technical expertise
National
Legislation
and
International
InstrumentsTrade and
environment lawSanitary and
phytosanitary lawImport and
export
legislation
Customs law"Sui generis "
Patents
Geographical
indications
Breeders' rights
Farmers' rights
Access to GRFA;
GMOs
Flexible programme delivery
FAO also offers a range of programme delivery options, so countries or groups of countries
may choose the capacity-building format that is most appropriate and cost effective for their needs
and most suitable for the development and strengthening of national and subregional institutions.
These options are designed to encourage synergy, networking and collaboration.  Programme typesinclude:
• National dialogue workshops
• Country-based capacity-building
• Regional and subregional training and networking
• Global seminars
• Distance learning activities
                                                     
2 Agreement on Agriculture.
3 Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.
4 Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade.
5 Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.IP/C/W/376/Add.2
Page 6
National dialogue workshops  are designed to promote dialogue amongst the various stakeholders in
a given country regarding a particular sector or Agreement in order to build national consensus.
For example, FAO organized a national dialog ue workshop in cooperation with a Member.
This workshop brought together more than 100 stakeholders in the WTO negotiations on agriculture.
Officials of the Ministries of Agriculture and Foreign Affairs and representatives of the private sector
(farmers, processors and traders) and civil societ y spent two days with a panel of internationally
recognized experts on the WTO to debate the challenges and opportunities for the country.
Country-based capacity-building  activities are in-depth programmes organised through national
projects in cooperation with national institutions in order to address complex agricultural trade issues
of direct and specific concern to a country.
These programmes are intended to build institutional capacity and to address supply-side
constraints.  Examples of such programmes include:  (i) Training for farmers and processors on
ensuring the quality of agricultural products by addressing microbiological and chemical hazards, and
focusing on good agricultural practices and hygienic practices along the food chain;
(ii) Strengthening Member Countries' role in the Codex process;  (iii) Training on HACCP for fish
inspectors and industry quality controllers, including audit and verification;  (iv) Strengthening
national food control regulatory frameworks;  (v) Building institutional capacity to comply with WTO
reporting requirements, to analyse the impact of alternative trade policy options and to assess thecompetitiveness of agriculture.
Regional and subregional training and networking activities are designed in collaboration with
regional and subregional institutions for groups of countries sharing similar concerns or interests (e.g.,
management of risks associated with pests, animal  diseases or food safety in agricultural trade,
regulation of trade-related intellectual property rights, or coordination of negotiating options and
positions in WTO fora).
Examples include:  (i) Seminars on the application of risk analysis or risk management for
food safety regulators, fishery industry personnel, inspectors, processors, distributors, and academia;
(ii) On-the-job training on risk management of selected veterinarians (epidemiologists and
biostatisticians) through work in Risk Analysis units in other countries.
Global seminars are designed to reach concerned officials of all interested Member Countries on
trade issues of global relevance.
For example, FAO has conducted a series of Roundtables on topics of concern in the
negotiations on agriculture such as food security, trade preferences, and safeguards.  These
Roundtables drew on contributions from internationally recognized experts and were held inconjunction with the Special Sessions of the WTO Committee on Agriculture for the benefit of the
agricultural trade negotiators based in Geneva.  Other subjects that might lend themselves to this
global format include:  (i) Legislation and legal instruments on access to genetic resources;
(ii) Implementation of SPS and TBT in fisheries and aquaculture or in forestry.IP/C/W/376/Add.2
Page 7
Distance learning  activities can be used to inform and involve wider audiences than government
officials, in order to build support through coalitions of different actors, to build or strengthen
informed constituencies, such as higher education institutions, representatives from the private sector
and civil society at large.
Development of information, teaching and learning resources in electronic and interactive
forms and delivery including dissemination of existing packages (e.g., the web-based document on
livestock trade-specific information relating to the SPS Agreement with three scenarios – countries
wishing to import, countries wishing to export and countries wishing to not import livestock products
at this time).
FAO's Record of Trade-Related Techni cal Cooperation with Member Nations
The Plan of Action  of the World Food Summit commits FAO to assist developing countries
on trade issues and, in particular, "in preparing for multilateral trade negotiations including in
agriculture, fisheries and forestry inter alia  through studies, analysis and training".  This commitment
has been reaffirmed by the 31st FAO Conference and it is embodied in the FAO Strategic Framework.
FAO's activities in this area culminated in the "Umbrella Training Programme on Uruguay
Round Follow-up" which was launched in 1999 with the generous support of many FAO Members.
The Programme, completed in July 2001, consisted of 14 subregional workshops that reached a total
of 850 officials from 151 countries.  This comprehensive Programme covered all WTO Agreements
of relevance to agriculture, fisheries and forestry.  It contributed to strengthening the participation ofdeveloping and transition countries in the negotiations through a better understanding of the WTO
Agreements.  A concrete outcome of the Programme includes the many proposals and information
documents tabled by developing and transition countries in the ongoing negotiations on agriculture,
many of which make explicit reference to FAO normative and operational activities.
The review of the Programme indicates the need to sustain this initial capacity-building effort
and keep developing countries abreast of developments related to WTO issues.  Countries are still
facing difficulties in implementing the current Agreements and coping with the impact on their
economies of strengthening and upgrading domestic SPS /TBT measures to comp ly with international
requirements and hence optimise their trading opportunities;  and in drafting or adapting theirlegislation in order to comply with the TRIPS Agr eement.  The new negotiations, of course, present
new challenges and new opportunities.
For more information about the range of FAO normative and operational activities related to
trade, please consult our website:  http://www.fao.org/trade .  For more information on FAO's new
capacity-building programme:
Contact:  Mr. Hartwig de Haen
Assistant Director-General
and
Chairman, Inter-Departmental Task Force on Multilateral Trade Negotiations
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Via delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy
Tel. (+39) 06 570 535561;  Fax. (+39) 06 570 54110
E-mail: Hartwig.deHaen@fao.org
Webpage: http://www.fao.org/trade
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