GFAR has long been concerned with Farmers’ Rights and played a pivotal role in the adoption of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture.

 

In 2012, the Global Forum began concerted activities supporting Farmers’ Rights implementation into practice, responding directly to national governments and smallholder farmer requests and needs. The main objective was to find ways by which Farmers’ Rights can be better addressed in national policies and in practice. Support has already been given to Guatemala, Honduras, Malawi and Nicaragua.

 

Based on the work done by the Global Forum on supporting Farmers’ Rights, through increasing awareness, providing capacity building and providing legal and technical assistance to decision-makers, smallholder farmers’ organizations and relevant stakeholders, GFAR started a Capacity Building Programme on the Implementation of Farmers’ Rights.

 

The programme starts from the local level, precisely from the recognition of the value of smallholder farmers of around the world in the conservation, use and improvement of food crops that are the basis of local, national and global food security.

 

It also recognizes smallholder farmers as the center of the innovation and development agricultural system, and therefore calls for the recognition and implementation of their rights over seeds/propagating material, traditional knowledge, innovations and practices.

 

The Capacity Building Programme on the Implementation of Farmers’ Rights is available for download here.