Rome: An international plant gene bank called Multilateral System set up for the fair and equitable sharing of plant genetic resources for food agriculture has become operational, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) announced today.

Over the past seven months, the system has facilitated the transfer of more than 90,000 plant genetic material.

Multilateral System is part of the legally-binding International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) that came into force in 2004 and has been ratified by 115 countries including India.

It aims to provide farmers, plant breeders and scientists free of charge access to plant genetic materials of 64 crops - crops that together account for 80 per cent of all human consumption - and helps to share benefits derived from their commercial use.

The countries have agreed to make their genetic diversity and related information about the crops stored in their gene banks available to all who comply with the standardised benefit-sharing agreements.

"No country is sufficient in crop diversity. Only the sharing of plant genetic material from different regions and countries will enable us to explore the unknown characteristics and the future potential of plant genetic resources," ITPGRFA Secretary Shakeel Bhatti said.

"The Multilateral System is an important tool for benefit sharing. However, a lot of effort still need to be made to facilitate the access to genetic resources and the sharing of benefits derived from their commercial use," he added.

Source : PTI