Ratification of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

South Africa has ratified the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. "Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen explains that farmers manage and conserve crop diversity to safeguard crop production and boost crop yields to meet current and future food demand owing to increasing population growth. “Internationally, farmers were however not formally recognised as custodians of crop diversity, until the adoption of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture which recognises the enormous role played by farmers and indigenous local communities in conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources for food security and agricultural biodiversity.”"