Survey of access and benefit-sharing country measures accommodating the distinctive features of genetic resources for food and agriculture and associated traditional knowledge

The multiple sectors of food and agriculture globally operate within a rapidly changing environment of legislative, administrative and policy measures on access and benefit-sharing (ABS). These regulate access to, and use and transfer of, genetic resources and traditional knowledge associated with them, including genetic resources for food and agriculture (GRFA) and traditional knowledge associated with them (TKGRFA), as well as the sharing of benefits arising from the use of genetic resources or associated traditional knowledge.2 The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) commissioned this survey to address the following research question: What types of legislative, administrative or policy measures have countries taken to accommodate the distinctive features of GRFA and subsectors of GRFA and of traditional knowledge associated with GRFA in their ABS measures?