Do I now have to pay for germplasm I ask for from IRRI?
No. The International Treaty requires us to give access to germplasm expeditiously and free of charge. The Treaty does allow us to charge for the administrative costs involved in making germplasm available. We do not currently make such a charge, although we do request breeders and genebanks in developed countries to make a voluntary donation to cover the costs of shipment and phytosanitary certification. The Treaty also allows us to charge for improved breeding materials which we classify as “plant genetic resources for food and agriculture under development”. But again, we have no plans to make any such charge at the moment.
