. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  IP/C/W/549/Add.2 
12 October 2010 
 
 (10-5244) 
Council for Trade-Related Aspects of 
Intellectual Property Rights Original:   English 
 
 
 
TECHNICAL COOPERATION ACTIVITIES:  INFORMATION FROM 
OTHER INTERGOVERNMEN TAL ORGANIZATIONS 
 
FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION  
OF THE UNITED NATIONS (FAO) 
 
Addendum  
  
 At its meeting of 8-9 June 2010, the Council for TRIPS agreed to invite intergovernmental 
organization observers to the Council to update th e information on their technical and financial 
cooperation programmes relating to the im plementation of the TRIPS Agreement. 
 The present document reproduces the informati on which has been received from the Food and 
Agriculture Organization of the United Nati ons (FAO) by means of a communication dated 
16 September 2010. 
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 1. In line with its mandate and technical competenci es, FAO's work is related to Article 27.3(b) 
of the TRIPS Agreement in particular, covering br oader concerns of the utilization, preservation and 
benefit sharing of genetic resour ces and biodiversity in general. 
2. FAO's assistance in this area takes the form of:  (a) analytical works on conservation and 
biodiversity;  (b) international consensus buildin g and resource mobilization for assisting Members;  
and (c) providing technical assistance to Members upon request. 
3. The work on Seeds and Plant Genetic Resources  at FAO focuses on the conservation and 
sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food  and agriculture, for the overall goal of food 
security.  The vision is to integrate conservation and sustainable utilization effectively into policy 
frameworks and action strategies that ensure a compre hensive response to the n eeds of farmers for the 
sustainable intensification of crop production.  Wo rk on assistance to the formulation of seed policy 
and drafting of the seed legislation at the national an d sub-regional levels en tails advising countries on 
the IPR/PVP.  Seed law harmonization, while not dire ctly related to variety pr otection, strengthens the 
capacity of countries and regions to perform DUS t est which indirectly improves their capacity  to 
register varieties for PVP under OAPI or ARIPO (Anglophone system).  FAO also interacts and works with UPOV in relation to IPR/PVP. 
4. The International Treaty on Plant Genetic  Resources for Food and Agriculture  (IT-PGRFA) 
is the key international framework for the conserva tion and sustainable use of PGRFA and for the fair 
and equitable sharing of the benefits arisi ng out of their use, in harmony with the Convention on 
Biological Diversity , for sustainable agriculture and food security.  In recent years, FAO has been 
continuously involved in this area through actions on:  (i) building interna tional awareness about the IP/C/W/549/Add.2 
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  importance of maintaining plant genetic diversity for food security, through intergovernmental bodies, 
and the organization of intergovernmental meetings ;  (ii) policy assistance and support to negotiations 
on international agreements and re lated regulatory frameworks;  (i ii) supporting capacity building for 
the conservation and sustainable use of genetic r esources, at regional and national levels, through 
projects and the publication of technical standards a nd guidelines;  and (iv) strengthening information 
management and exchange throu gh international, regional and na tional databases and networks, and 
capacity building. 
5. An example of technical assistance to countries is FAO collaboration with the Ministry of 
Agriculture of Afghanistan in developing the S eed Law, which was enacted in December 2009.  
Another example is the FAO project for strengthening capacities towards the establishment of a 
regional platform for the detection of genetically modified organisms  for the implementation of the 
Global Plan of Action for Conservation and Sustai nable use of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and 
Agriculture in the Near East and North Africa region. 
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