The Crop Trust is recognized as an essential element of the funding strategy of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, as established in a formal Relationship Agreement signed by the Crop Trust and the Governing Body of the Plant Treaty in 2006.
The Governing Body of the Plant Treaty nominates four members to the Executive Board of the Crop Trust, and the Board presents an annual report on Crop Trust activities to the Governing Body of the Plant Treaty.
The organs of the Crop Trust are:
- The Executive Board
- The Donors’ Council
- The Executive Director
- Technical experts appointed by the Executive Director
See the Crop Trust’s governance structure or download it along with our other Governance Policy and Procedure Documents below.
The Executive Board
The Executive Board is the principal decision-making body of the Crop Trust. The Board normally meets twice each year. It oversees the operations and activities of the Crop Trust in pursuance of its objective. The Executive Board also approves the budget of the Crop Trust. It currently is comprised of twelve members who are appointed by key Crop Trust stakeholders.
The Donors’ Council
In 2005 the Executive Board established a Donors’ Council to advise it on fundraising and other financial matters related to the activities of the Crop Trust, to provide a forum for the expression of the views of donors on the operation of the Crop Trust, to provide financial oversight and to perform such other functions as are entrusted to it under the Crop Trust’s Constitution. The Donors’ Council is comprised of public and private donors from both the developed and the developing world.
Fund Disbursement
The Crop Trust’s work directly supports the system of ex situ conservation in plant genebanks, described in the Plant Treaty; it is complementary to ongoing in situ conservation efforts in farmers’ field, which are however outside of the Crop Trust’s mandate as defined in its Constitution.
The Crop Trust has developed a Fund Disbursement Strategy, which is based on the principles and strategies in the Global Plan of Action and the principles within the International Treaty. The Fund Disbursement Strategy is recognized by the Governing Body of the Plant Treaty. The Crop Trust’s Fund Disbursement Strategy focuses on three major areas:
- Securing crop diversity of global significance;
- Promoting Participation and Increasing Benefits; and
- Increasing Efficiency and Effectiveness within and between collections.
The Crop Trust’s Role in Conserving PGRFA
The role of the Crop Trust in encouraging the development of a more efficient, effective and sustainable system for the long-term conservation of Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA) in accordance with the Trust’s Constitution, the Global Plan of Action for conserving and using crop diversity and the Plant Treaty is described in detail in: The Role of the Global Crop Diversity Trust in Helping Ensure the Long-Term Conservation and Availability of PGRFA.
Read More about the Governance of the Crop Trust
Further information is provided about the Crop Trust’s governance and establishment on the following pages:
- Executive Board
- Donors’ Council
- The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (The Plant Treaty)
- The Crop Trust’s Establishment (including links to the Crop Trust Establishment Agreement and Constitution in various languages)
