On protecting farmers' new varieties: new approaches to rights on collective innovations in plant genetic resources

"Current farmers' breeding goes beyond the gradual selection in landraces, and includes development and maintenance of major new farmers' varieties that are rather uniform, in particular in South-East Asia. Modern varieties developed in the formal sector have simply replaced landraces as the source of diversity, but have not abolished farmers' breeding practices. Interpretations of the new international agreements on plant genetic resources should protect the development of modern farmers' varieties. However, ensuring recognition of collective innovation, allowing access to relevant germplasm sources for farmers' breeding activities, keeping materials freely available, and arranging for effective benefit sharing, all form major challenges. This paper proposes a new protective measure: namely “origin recognition rights." Author's AbstractLandraces, Farmers' varieties, Collective rights, Declaration of origin, Origin recognition, Germplasm resources,

The Effects of Strengthened IPR Regimes on the Plant Breeding Sector in Developing Countries

This paper analyzes the effect of intellectual property rights (IPR) regimes on the plant breeding sector in developing countries. Most of these countries have implemented a system of plant variety protection (PVP), or are in the process of doing so, generally as part of their obligations under the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This paper presents the results of research on the initial effects of IPRs on the plant breeding sector in five case study countries (China, Colombia, India, Kenya and Uganda). Three of the countries have PVP systems in place and the other two are in the process of either developing or implementing legislation. But the ease of implementing PVP seems to have been overestimated. Opportunities to minimize the transaction costs of acquiring and enforcing rights are being missed. Detailed interviews with both domestic and international seed companies suggest that PVP can not be expected to initiate the development of a commercial seed sector. But a well functioning system can play a role in stimulating further development of the sector, although a measured approach to increasing the scope of protection will probably better balance interests than rapid adoption standards of industrialized countries. The results also highlight the particular challenges facing national agricultural research institutes in determining how to best make use of IPRs, such as PVP, particularly given broader changes in publicly-financed agricultural research.Crop Production/Industries, L3, O3, Q16,

Plant breeding and diversity : A troubled relationship?

Plant breeding collects, induces and rearranges genetic diversity followed by selection. Breeding may contribute to diversity in farmers’ fields or significantly reduce it. History has numerous examples of both. The diversity of many crops have gone through domestication, dispersal and modernization bottlenecks. Between these major decreasing processes, diversity has picked up through different evolutionary processes, and plant breeding affected by policies. Major negative effects of plant breeding on diversity have been recorded following the modernization bottleneck, but alternative breeding strategies have come up as well, both in the formal system and in the interphase between formal and farmers’ seed systems. Multiline breeding and participatory plant breeding are introduced as examples to also analyse effects of current developments in technology and policy. This paper intends to shed some light on the questions: how will current developments in technology and policy affect crop genetic diversity? Are we heading for a new bottleneck—either a molecular or a policy bottleneck, or a combination of both? Or could the future become more diverse? We look at the relationship between breeding, policies, and crop genetic diversity in farming systems with a birds-eye view. Notably because of current policy trends we warn for a new diversity bottleneck.</p

Genetics

Genetics is the study of heredity and the functioning of hereditary material, the genes. Genetics is relevant to food in two distinct ways: (1) Firstly, the genetic makeup of the organisms producing food (plants, animals and microorganisms) determines to a significant extent the composition of the food in nutritional and anti-nutritional terms. It furthermore relates to other quality components, such as processing qualities, shelf life, and sensitivity to the growth of toxic microorganisms in or on the consumed product. (2) Secondly, on the side of the consumer there may be human-genetic preconditions that determine sensitivities to certain foods. This section focuses on the former and draws examples mainly from food plants. This introduction to genetics is also relevant because debates are arising again about certain genetic techniques that can be used in breeding plants and animals. We therefore introduce the concept of breeding, including its technological developments over time. Breeding is the use and creation of genetic diversity to select plants and animals that respond better to the needs of farmers and consumers

On Protecting Farmers’ New Varieties: New Approaches to Rights on Collective Innovations in Plant Genetic Resources

Current farmers’ breeding goes beyond the gradual selection in landraces, and includes development and maintenance of major new farmers’ varieties that are rather uniform, in particular in South-East Asia. Modern varieties developed in the formal sector have simply replaced landraces as the source of diversity, but have not abolished farmers’ breeding practices. Interpretations of the new international agreements on plant genetic resources should protect the development of modern farmers’ varieties. However, ensuring recognition of collective innovation, allowing access to relevant germplasm sources for farmers’ breeding activities, keeping materials freely available, and arranging for effective benefit sharing, all form major challenges. This paper proposes a new protective measure: namely “origin recognition rights.

The Effects of Strengthened IPR Regimes on the Plant Breeding Sector in Developing Countries

This paper analyzes the effect of intellectual property rights (IPR) regimes on the plant breeding sector in developing countries. Most of these countries have implemented a system of plant variety protection (PVP), or are in the process of doing so, generally as part of their obligations under the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property (TRIPS) of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This paper presents the results of research on the initial effects of IPRs on the plant breeding sector in five case study countries (China, Colombia, India, Kenya and Uganda). Three of the countries have PVP systems in place and the other two are in the process of either developing or implementing legislation. But the ease of implementing PVP seems to have been overestimated. Opportunities to minimize the transaction costs of acquiring and enforcing rights are being missed. Detailed interviews with both domestic and international seed companies suggest that PVP can not be expected to initiate the development of a commercial seed sector. But a well functioning system can play a role in stimulating further development of the sector, although a measured approach to increasing the scope of protection will probably better balance interests than rapid adoption standards of industrialized countries. The results also highlight the particular challenges facing national agricultural research institutes in determining how to best make use of IPRs, such as PVP, particularly given broader changes in publicly-financed agricultural research

Integrated Seed Sector Development in Africa : A Basis for Seed Policy and Law

Seed policies primarily concentrate on the formal seed system, which supplies Sub-Saharan African countries less than 20% of the total seed demand and involves only a limited number of crops and varieties. Seed laws, and the mechanisms and organizations involved in their implementation, are developed with varying degrees of success. We address the limitations of applying a linear model to seed sector development and introduce integrated seed sector development (ISSD). We assess seed systems in Ethiopia, Mali, and Zambia, and demonstrate that one single model cannot address the variations in realities within one country or the continent. ISSD provides opportunities for taking a pluralistic approach in strengthening multiple seed systems, and has the potential to combine objectives targeting food security, agricultural development, promoting entrepreneurship, and contributing to biodiversity management. We elaborate pathways for ISSD-guided policies that include variety release, seed quality management, and plant breeders' rights