ABSTRACT
Today, Africa remains the most disadvantaged continent of the world despite having abundant natural resources. This is due to a variety of reasons, both historical and contemporary. Poverty, malnutrition and poor health, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, affect a large proportion of the people. These poor conditions are intrinsically linked with the access to food and to crops necessary for subsistence farming. For this reason, Africa has placed a lot of hope in the negotiation and implementation of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (the Treaty or ITPGRFA).
