Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

The Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is an intergovernmental body that addresses issues specifically related to the management of biodiversity of relevance to food and agriculture. It was established in 1983 as the Commission on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. In 1995, the mandate of the Commission was extended to cover all components of biodiversity for food and agriculture and its name was changed to its current version. Its membership comprises 179 countries and the European Union.

The Commission’s statutes charge it with taking ''"a coordinating role and ... deal[ing] with policy, sectoral and cross-sectoral matters related to the conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources of relevance to food and agriculture"''. Its mission is to ''"strive to halt the loss of genetic resources for food and agriculture, and to ensure world food security and sustainable development by promoting their conservation and sustainable use, including exchange, access and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising from their use"''.

The Commission’s activities include overseeing global assessments of biodiversity and genetic resources used in the various sectors of food and agriculture and developing international policy instruments related to the management of these resources. Provided by Wikipedia