Italy donates to food gene pact
Source: http://www.topnews.in/
Italy has announced a contribution of 1.2 million euros to compensate some of the world’s poorest farmers for conserving and propagating crop varieties that could prove to be the saviour of global food security over the coming decades.
The contribution to a benefit-sharing scheme managed by the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture was recently announced during the celebrations on the International Day of Biodiversity which has as its theme: Biodiversity, Development and Poverty Alleviation.
The Italian donation follows on the heels of a $2.2 million donation made by Spain at the end of last year, and highlights the interest of many Mediterranean countries in the preservation of food crop diversity.
By investing in the Treaty’s new Benefit-sharing Fund Italy is directly and positively addressing global biodiversity and agro-biodiversity for a sustainable management of the rural areas and natural resources also by supporting smallholder farmers preserve and use crop diversity in developing countries.
