Proposed changes in the standard material transfer agreement— Making it work as a contract, and future pitfalls

Abstract In November 2025, the Governing Body of the Plant Treaty aims at agreeing to the measure to enhance the functionality of the Multilateral System for Plant Genetic Resources. Exchange of plant genetic resources is essential for progress in plant breeding. The negotiation of amendments to the current Standard Material Transfer Agreement (SMTA) of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) stranded at its Governing Body 8 in Rome 2019, and the negotiation process was restarted by resolution 3/2022. Succeeding with the revision of the SMTA will be one of the politically important goals for the next Governing Body meeting. When the stake is political and high, there is a chance of compromising on the core details to make the system work as a tool of law. For the SMTA to oblige users of PGRFA to share benefits back to the global common through the Fund under the ITPGRFA, it is essential for the ITPGRFA to achieve its objectives. This article analyses the proposed changes in the SMTA as by July 2025 to assess whether it is likely to oblige users to contribute with user payments. It evaluates the “Subscription System” and the “Single Access System” respectively from contract law perspective to discuss the chance for increasing payments to the system. The methodology is to apply contract drafting literature to the proposals on the table and propose clarifications for a new SMTA. Only by being binding on the users, the SMTA can be expected to provide for user payments in the future.