As a follow-up to two meetings held in 2003, Meridian Institute facilitated a meeting among diverse stakeholders in October 2004 to discuss plant genetic resources in East and Central Africa. The meeting was sponsored by The Rockefeller Foundation and held in Italy at the Foundation’s Bellagio Study and Conference Center. Participants included plant breeders and policy makers from the Kenyan Agricultural Research Institute and the Ugandan National Agricultural Research Organization, as well as policy makers, scientists, attorneys, and other experts in the fields of agriculture, economic development, and international trade.

The participants developed more than a dozen recommendations aimed at the national, regional, and international levels that will help to ensure continued access to the genetic materials needed by public-sector scientists in East and Central Africa. Such genetic materials are used in crop improvement activities aimed at benefiting the poor and excluded. A final report is available in the documents section.