ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses why the plant genetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA) management are so important for food security, poverty eradication and future generations. It contributes the growing research body on international governance. Given the crucial importance of agro-biodiversity for the rural poor in developing countries, the chapter gives importance to the effects of the international regimes in developing countries. Biological diversity has usually been associated with wild animals and plants. There has generally been less political awareness of the crucial importance of genetic diversity in agriculture. Plant genetic diversity is decisive to the breeding of food crops and is thus one of the central preconditions for food security throughout the world. Access to diverse genetic resources is vital to modern plant breeding, as it provides the genetic traits required to deal with crop pests and diseases, as well as with changing climate conditions.
