The term "Access and benefit-sharing," or "ABS," describes how genetic resources can be obtained and how the advantages that arise from their use are divided between the individuals who supply the resources (providers) and the users (users). A genetic resource can also be defined as genetic material with present or future value. It might refer to the plant, animal, or microbiological units of heredity (Cirad et al 2015).

Why is it important?
Farmers are bioresource providers. Governments and cooperative organizations, encompassing both private landowners and communities within a nation, possess the legal entitlement to grant access to genetic resources and to divide the advantages that arise from their utilization. The purpose of the Convention on Biological Diversity's (CBD) access and benefit-sharing clauses is to guarantee that genetic resources can be physically accessed and that the advantages of using them are distributed fairly among their producers.

This occasionally includes priceless traditional knowledge pertaining to genetic resources originating from Indigenous Local Communities, or ILCs. The advantages can be non- financial (training, capacity building, processing help, etc.) or financial (royalty sharing, as an example, when resources are used to make a product for sale). Users and suppliers alike must be aware of and abide by the laws and guidelines set forth by the CBD and the Bonn Guidelines. These support governments in creating their own national frameworks that guarantee fair and equitable benefit-sharing and access.