This study contributes to the work stream on digital sequence information of FAO’s Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (GRFA). It presents key practices and experiences related to the ways in which digital sequence information (DSI) is generated, stored, accessed, and used for research and development related to GRFA. The report explores the availability and accessibility of DSI to the research community and the private sector in all parts of the world. It also presents solutions currently being discussed for access to, and use of, DSI and the sharing of benefits arising from such use. In addition, the study discusses applications of DSI that are relevant to GRFA, including DSI that is not derived from GRFA but nevertheless contributes to their identification, characterization, use, improvement and conservation. Further, the report addresses obstacles to access and use of DSI and identifies the need for capacity building to address global imbalance in its generation and use.The study demonstrates the many existing and potential applications of DSI that are highly relevant to GRFA whilst stressing the importance of open access to data to facilitate research and development in food and agriculture. It emphasises that the generation, storage, accessibility and use of DSI are fundamental to the efforts to make agriculture more sustainable. Access to, and use of, DSI face serious obstacles in many countries. There is a pressing need to address the root causes of these problems, which include lack of: technical infrastructure, financial and human resources, educational and training opportunities, scientific collaboration, computing infrastructure, reliable electricity and high-speed internet. The study concludes that there is a need for a regulatory environment that facilitates access to DSI whilst also maintaining the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from its use.

This open access book provides the first systematic overview of existing challenges and opportunities for responsible data linkage, and a cutting-edge assessment of which steps need to be taken to ensure that plant data are ethically shared and used for the benefit of ensuring global food security – one of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. The volume focuses on the contemporary contours of such challenges through sustained engagement with current and historical initiatives and discussion of best practices and prospective future directions for ensuring responsible plant data linkage. The volume is divided into four sections that include case studies of plant data use and linkage in the context of particular research projects, breeding programs, and historical research. It address technical challenges of data linkage in developing key tools, standards and infrastructures, and examines governance challenges of data linkage in relation to socioeconomic and environmental research and data collection. Finally, the last section addresses issues raised by new data production and linkage methods for the inclusion of agriculture’s diverse stakeholders. This book brings together leading experts in data curation, data governance and data studies from a variety of fields, including data science, plant science, agricultural research, science policy, data ethics and the philosophy, history and social studies of plant science.

Over the past 15 years, there have been rapid and ever-increasing advances in science and technology, institutional and human capacities and infrastructure in the field of gene sequencing and in the associated bioinformatics (the application of information technology and computer science to the field of molecular biology) and high-performance computing. This publication provides an update on recent developments in biotechnologies relevant to the characterization, sustainable use and conservation of genetic resources for food and agriculture.

This eBook is a collection of articles from a Frontiers Research Topic. Frontiers Research Topics are very popular trademarks of the Frontiers Journals Series: they are collections of at least ten articles, all centered on a particular subject. With their unique mix of varied contributions from Original Research to Review Articles, Frontiers Research Topics unify the most influential researchers, the latest key findings and historical advances in a hot research area! Find out more on how to host your own Frontiers Research Topic or contribute to one as an author by contacting the Frontiers Editorial Office: frontiersin.org/about/contact.

Food systems around the world face a triple challenge: providing food security and nutrition for a growing global population; supporting livelihoods for those working along the food supply chain; and contributing to environmental sustainability. Better policies hold tremendous promise for making progress in these domains.

The fourth educational module on the International Treaty focuses on the Multilateral System functions provides an overview of the legal and historical perspectives that lead to the development of the Multilateral System and the list of Annex I crops. It also illustrates the core concepts and articles of Section IV of the International Treaty. The first two lessons are aimed at a broad target learner group, especially at learners that are new to the Multilateral System. Lessons three and four contain practical elements related to the day-to-day operations and may be of interest to those exchanging material and involved in the planning and implementation of the Multilateral System at the national level. All lessons provide an extensive list of resources and references for further reading and learning. It has been designed to contribute to supporting the implementation of the International Treaty and also the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework.