As the Plant Treaty’s Ad Hoc Working Group meets in Peru, Indian policymakers have strongly opposed proposed changes—especially to Annex I—warning they could threaten India’s control over its seeds and plant genetic resources.

What is a Plant Treaty ? 

• The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) is a legally binding agreement under the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), adopted in 2001.
• It was signed in 2001 in Madrid, and entered into force on 29 June 2004.
• Its primary aims are to:
  • Conserve plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA).
  • Promote their sustainable use.
  • Recognize the contribution of farmers to the diversity of crops.
  • Ensure fair and equitable benefit sharing, especially in research and development.
  • India ratified the treaty in 2002.
• Currently, only 64 crops (35 food + 29 forage plants) listed in Annex 1 are covered under its Multilateral System (MLS).
  • Annex 1 crop includes Sorghum, Wheat, Maize, Banana/Plantation, Potato among others. 

Basic Features of the SMTA (Standard Material Transfer Agreement)

• The SMTA is a mandatory, standard contract used for all exchanges of plant genetic material under the Multilateral System (MLS) of the International Treaty. Its terms cannot be modified.
• It reduces transaction costs by avoiding the need for separate contracts for each transfer, while ensuring legal certainty for all parties involved.
• It includes reporting obligations for both providers and users to support transparency and monitoring.
• The agreement features a multi-step dispute resolution mechanism, including amicable resolution, mediation, and binding international arbitration.
• The SMTA is legally enforceable, with actions enforceable through arbitration.

Benefit-sharing Fund (BSF)

• To support developing countries, the Treaty set up a Benefit-sharing Fund. This fund helps farmers and institutions conserve and use plant genetic resources to improve food security and climate resilience. 
• Users of genetic material from the MLS are expected to share a portion of profits with the fund, but as commercialisation takes time, most of the funding now comes from voluntary contributions.

Proposed Amendment

• Expand Annex I to cover “all PGRFA” (all plant genetic resources for food and agriculture).

Key Implication

• India would be legally obligated to share all plant germplasm, under SMTA determined by the Governing Body (GB) of the Plant Treaty, and not under India’s own terms and conditions, if they possess traits with potential utility for food or forage breeding.
• May erode national and farmers’ rights, as India would lose the authority to determine access conditions.
• The expansion could bypass State Biodiversity Boards, despite agriculture being a State subject under Schedule VII of the Constitution.
• This would effectively render the current crop list obsolete, as per critics.

Concerns Raised by India and Civil Society Groups

• The amendment dilutes the treaty’s benefit-sharing provisions.
• It undermines sovereign rights of developing countries and farmers’ rights over seeds.
• Could promote corporate capture and biopiracy, including digital biopiracy (e.g., gene sequences).
• Violates the intent of the treaty and deviates from the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
• Expanding MLS access to all PGRFA: Could obligate biodiverse nations to share resources they may not even fully document or understand. 
• May allow foreign entities easier access to native genetic material without equitable benefit-sharing.

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