Location: Muscat, Oman
Patrick Mulvany: “Last week, the Governing Body of the International Seed Treaty (IT PGRFA) met for the fifth time (GB5) in the exclusive, chilled environment of the Al Bustan Palace Hotel, Muscat in the Sultanate of Oman. The results were promising – Civil Society and Farmers’ Organisations helped stimulate commitment to essential changes in how the Treaty operates.
This isolated location, far from forgotten farmers’ fields that grow the biodiverse crops which feed the world, could have derailed the Treaty in, what Secretary Shakeel Bhatti described as, the make or break session of the Governing Body.
In the event, the degree of unanimity of the African, Asian and Latin American blocs, with significant support from some European countries, and with united advocacy from farmers ‘organisations and CSOs present, all contributed to better outcomes than some had predicted.”
