The world will observe two international gatherings of importance in November 2025: annual UN climate change conference (COP-30) in Brazil and 11th session of the Governing Body (GB-11) of international treaty on plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (ITPGRFA) in Peru. Nepal will send a ministerial-level delegation to GB-11 scheduled to be held from 24 to 29 November 2025, to be led by the minister of agriculture and livestock development (MoALD). The 11th session will be held under the theme of “Fostering Biodiversity and Food Security: Preserving Heritage, Cultivating a Shared Future.” The meeting is expected to finalize years of negotiations aiming to enhance the functioning of the Treaty’s Multilateral System of access and benefit-sharing (MLS), which is considered as the largest global exchange mechanism for plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. The MLS was initiated in 2013 however by 2019 negotiations came to a halt due to persistent disagreements among parties—particularly over key issues such as the scope of the MLS and the terms of monetary benefit-sharing. Besides MLS, the session will discuss agenda on digital sequence information/genetic sequence data (DSI/GSD) on plant genetic resources; the expansion of annex-1; and the payment structure and rates under the revised SMTA (standard material transfer agreement). The delegates will have tough time to settle these contentious issues. The session will further consider items related to conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources; the global information system; and farmers’ rights, including a draft assessment on the state of implementation of farmer’s rights provision enshrined in article 9 of the treaty.
Nepal’s positions
The MoALD has conducted a series of internal and external discussions with farmers, CSOs, academia and experts. The position paper is based on priority, needs and interests of country and is rightly articulated as an approach paper for internal and external advocacy and influence.
Expansion of Annex-1
The annex-1 is the list of crops covered under the multi-lateral system. These crops are considered most important for food security, and on which countries were particularly interdependent. The annex-1 ensures access to and fair sharing of genetic material for plant breeders and scientists. The framework under annex-1 guides the countries what can be shared and used. The list consists of 35 crops-or in case of Brassicas, crop complexes-and 29 forages, which was agreed through a political exercise rather than the application of straightforward scientific criteria.
Nepal is against the expansion of annex-1. Nepal’s position is that expanding annex-1 could lead to the promotion of a few global varieties of crops and forage, resulting in loss of landraces and genetic diversity. This could lead to further complications in governance, traceability, and benefit-sharing. Instead, Nepal advocates to protect sovereign rights of the country and farmer’s rights as a protector of agri-food system. Farmers’ rights must be respected throughout this process, and free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) should be obtained whenever their seeds are collected or used for research and breeding purposes.
The current model of negotiated selection, which is based on relevance for food security and interdependence of countries on germplasm, provides a more balanced approach. It recognizes the importance of maintaining a broad range of genetic diversity that can support country-specific needs and agricultural adaptations. Nepal, like other countries, requires the ability to develop and conserve country-specific varieties that are tailored to local environmental conditions, climate change resilience, and traditional farming systems.
Payment structure and rates
The 11th session is expected to finalize the negotiations aiming to enhance functioning of multi-lateral system that oversee exchange of genetic resources and benefit sharing. First initiated in 2013, these negotiations have focused on revising the SMTA used for plant genetic resource exchanges and benefit-sharing. A key concern with the current payment structure under SMTA is that it only requires users to contribute to the benefit-sharing fund. This narrow condition has significantly limited benefit-sharing. Despite over 6.6 million plant genetic samples distributed to more than 25,000 recipients, only five users have made payments to date, revealing the system’s ineffectiveness. Moreover, the current system also focuses only on seed sales for benefit-sharing, overlooking other commercial uses of plant genetic resources, such as biotechnological applications or licensing.
Nepal supports the establishment of a Subscription-Only System as the most effective and equitable option for generating consistent, predictable contributions to the Benefit-Sharing Fund. This model would require all users accessing materials to subscribe, thereby ensuring that benefit-sharing obligations are not avoided, regardless of how the materials are used or whether exclusivity is claimed.
In addition, the position paper emphasizes the need to expand the definition of “commercialization”. The current narrow definition limits payments to seed sales, overlooking other valuable commercial uses such as licensing, product development, and biotechnology applications. The system should be revised to be product-neutral, ensuring that all forms of commercialization involving global plant genetic resources, relating to food and feed, are covered and subject to benefit-sharing.
Digital sequence information/genetic sequence data (DSI/GSD) on PGRFA
DSI/GSD is the electronic information about the genetic makeup of plants. This includes the sequence of nucleotides in DNA and RNA, but can also include information on proteins, RNA, and other data derived from biological material. The interesting fact is that the information can be transmitted and used without needing the physical plant material, making it easily shareable globally through databases. As the system allows access to genetic resources in digital form, enabling researchers and companies to obtain and use genetic information without physically accessing the biological materials, this will bypass traditional access and benefit-sharing (ABS) frameworks.
Nepal recognizes the transformative potential of DSI for advancing agricultural research and food security while also acknowledging the complex challenges it poses for equitable benefit-sharing. Our position emphasizes the importance of preserving open access to DSI for non-commercial and public-good research, to support innovation, conservation, and food system resilience, especially in developing countries. However, Nepal firmly believe that mandatory benefit-sharing mechanisms must be established for commercial applications that arise from the use of DSI, ensuring fairness to provider countries and communities.
The position paper stated that linking DSI use to the Benefit-Sharing Fund is crucial for the long-term sustainability of the multi-lateral system of sharing. Major commercial users of DSI, including biotech and seed companies, should be required to make proportional contributions through a global levy or licensing system. This would ensure equitable financing for the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources, especially in developing countries.
Conclusions
Being a pre-dominant agriculture economy, this global meeting is very important for Nepal. However, success depends on our diplomatic ability to negotiate, influence and be a part of larger network to amplify the voices. The frequent changing of government delegates can potentially have a negative impact on institutional memory. Maintaining a pool of permanent delegates at ministerial level can solve this challenge. As diplomacy must go in tandem with science, ministry of foreign affairs should have a stake in such global conference and meetings. At domestic level, there is a need for enhancing capacities of government staff, CSOs, media and others on understanding the system and mechanism related to plant genetic resources. The position paper highlights developing and disseminating briefing papers and case studies as evidence at national and global levels. The stakeholders call on concerned authority to develop and/or finalize national legislations on access and benefit sharing, digital sequence information and plant varietal protection and farmer’s rights. The draft bill on farmer’s rights has long been pending in the dusty corners of ministries. A government delegate, who has been participating in these global meeting, has identified the need of person who can decode “legal language” used in the agreement.
