GFAR – the Global Forum on Agricultural Research – is holding a webinar on May 30 at 4 p.m. Rome time (3 p.m. GMT, 10 a.m. EST) about how informal and formal seed systems can complement each other to benefit farmers.
In the webinar, “Farmers’ Rights: Achieving Complementarity Between the Informal and Formal Seed Systems,” presenters will share how this balance has been achieved and identify some obstacles that still need to be addressed; and an expert will share how holistic policy and legal measures are also needed, identifying their relevant elements and sharing national examples. The session is meant to distill information and best practices that can be applied to strengthen the complementarity between the informal and formal seed systems and motivate participants to work together by strengthening partnerships and collective actions.
Presenters include:
- Mr. Mario Marino, Technical Officer, Secretariat of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
- Ms. Gloria Otieno, Associate Expert, Genetic Resources and Food Security Policy; Bioversity International Regional Office in Uganda
- Mr. Marvin Gomez, leader in participatory plant breeding; Foundation for Participatory Research with Honduran farmers
- Ms. Szonja Csörgõ, Director of Intellectual Property and Legal Affairs of the European Seed Association
- Mr. Bram de Jonge, Seed Policy Advisor at Oxfam Novib, the Netherlands
Register for this webinar by emailing GFAR-Secretariat@fao.org.