Tonga has signed the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture that promotes food security, on 16 March.

Sione Foliaki, the Deputy Director at the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Forests and Fisheries said Tonga's joining the treaty’s multilateral system meant it now has access to a global pool of more than 1.6 million important food plants.

He said as climate keeps changing everyday farmers need access to new crops or new plant genetics of food crops varieties that can withstand prolonged agriculture drought or tolerate flooding during rainy season.

“I can say there are a variety of good food crops, fruits and vegetables we can bring from countries of origin to Tonga but only through this treaty’s multilateral system.”

At the same time, women groups involved in horticulture and floriculture are now eligible to participate, he said.

Dependent

The Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC) said Tonga became the 134^th contracting party, while Papua New Guinea will formally join on 15 May this year thanks to technical support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and SPC.

“The treaty is vital in ensuring continued availability of plant genetic resources that countries rely on to feed their people, allowing future generations to access genetic diversity that is essential for food and agriculture.”

The Secretary of the International Treaty, Dr Shakeel Bahatti said Tonga would be eligible “to participate in both monetary and non-monetary benefit sharing mechanisms including initiatives on technology transfer, capacity building and added information on food crops.”

The Ministers of Agriculture in the Pacific had endorsed a recommendation in 2012 supporting Pacific Island countries that had yet to ratify the treaty to do so. Countries from the Southwest Pacific who are parties to the treaty include Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Palau and Samoa.