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Plant genetic resources for agricultural development are crucial for sustainable production,
providing the biological basis for food security and supporting economic livelihoods of
people. They are the plant breeders’ most important raw material and the farmers’ most
essential input for improving the quality and quantity of crop produce.
The proposed project aims at reviewing national policies in respective SADC Member States
with the ultimate goal of developing the regional policy guidelines on PGR conservation and
sustainable utilization. Countries are at different levels in this respect but those lagging far
behind shall be helped to come up with own legislations and policies frameworks that will
feed into the regional PGR policy guidelines.
In the course of implementing the project, creation of awareness to policy makers about
conservation and utilization of PGR in the region through stakeholders’ workshops and
seminars and other related activities will be intensified. It will complement efforts to promote
awareness and domestication of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food
and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) and other initiatives and programmes.
Plant genetic resources have become a topical issue in international agricultural,
environmental, Intellectual Property, and trade policy circles, and their proper conservation
which requires guidance by legislations and policies. PGRs are crucial not only for their
conservation significance, but also for the accruable benefits from sustainable use.
The SADC region is endowed with a wealth of plant diversity and indigenous innovations
whose access and accrued benefits dictate national efforts to be made to fulfill the
internationally and regionally agreed commitments. Such policies ought to target the
economic potential of these resources, identification of the real and potential users of these
resources, planning and sustainable use of the resources, development of ex-situ and in-situ
conservation, documentation, dissemination of information, and support for research on new
uses of genetic resources.
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