Technical Issues Relating to Agricultural Microbial Genetic Resources (AMiGRs), Including their Characteristics, Utilization, Preservation and Distribution : draft information paper

Draft information paper prepared for the Genetic Resources Policy Committee (GRPC) of the CGIAR for submission to the 11th Regular Session of the Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA), 11–15 June 2007. At it's 16th Session in September 2004, the Genetic Resources Policy Committee (GRPC) of the CGIAR recommended that the CGIAR’s System-wide Genetic Resources Programme (SGRP) and the Centres work together to determine the scope of microorganisms relevant to food and agriculture, as a first step in analyzing policy on access, use and conservation of culture collections within the CGIAR system and outside. The GRPC subsequently commissioned a background study on technical issues related to developing harmonized management policies, guidelines and practices concerning acquisition, use and distribution of Agricultural Microbial Genetic Resources (AMiGRs). This study was carried out by Prof. John Howieson of Murdoch University, Australia. The resulting paper was considered by the GRPC in subsequent meetings and circulated to FAO, the CGIAR and other interested organizations for comments. It was finally approved, with some changes, by the GRPC at it's 21th Session in April 2007, for submission as a draft information paper to the 11th Regular Session of Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CGRFA), 11–15 June 2007. The GRPC added four recommendations that it developed based on inputs from the paper and other sources. The recommendations are included in the "conclusions" of the paper. These same recommendations were provided to the 11th CGRFA by way of an oral intervention.