Protecting traditional ethno-botanical knowledge in South Africa through the intellectual property regime

Traditional knowledge has been used, and is increasingly being used, in a wide range of industries for the development of new products. Increasing awareness of the economic value of biological diversity has resulted in industries seeking to exploit traditional knowledge and biodiversity through opportunistic behaviour (biopiracy). This is also happening in South Africa, where numerous industries are developing new products. Recent advances in the field of biotechnology have created the need for greater intellectual property rights protection. The protection of traditional knowledge has however long been ignored as developed nations and large industries have sought to promote self-serving systems of protection. In this paper the example of an indigenous medicinal plant is used to analyse and describe the extent to which patent and trademark protection is able to protect traditional ethno-botanical knowledge in South Africa. The study therefore aims to contribute to an understanding of the value that traditional knowledge holds for the sustainable development and economic growth of communities, and how such knowledge can be protected.Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Competitive performance of global deciduous fruit supply chains: South Africa versus Chile

The South African deciduous fruit industry has experienced difficulties in the past few years. Most deciduous fruit producers have suffered from increased globalisation of markets; trade liberalisation; deregulation of the industry; advances in information technology; changes in consumer preference; over-supply of deciduous fruit in South Africa’s traditional markets and increased global competition, particularly from Chile. These factors have a continuous effect on the competitiveness of the industry and force deciduous fruit producers to position themselves as capable competitors in the global free-market environment. This paper measures the competitive performance of the South African deciduous fruit supply chains relative to those of Chile. An internationally recognised index, the Relative Revealed Comparative Trade Advantage (RTA) index and also data from both Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO, 2007) and World Trade Organisation (WTO, 2007) are used to measure the competitive performance. The results reveal that South Africa’s deciduous fruit supply chains are shown to be competitive internationally, whereas Chile’s deciduous fruit supply chains are strongly internationally competitive. In most cases, South African fruit products to which value has been added have a competitive disadvantage, contrary to the case in Chile. South African deciduous fruit competitive performance decreases when moving from primary to processed products in the chains, an indication that value-adding opportunities are still limitedDeciduous fruit, competitiveness, supply chains,

The effects of water policies on the farm sector in the Western Cape

The farm sector of the Western Cape is modelled using a sector mathematical programming model to determine the effect of different water policies on output, prices, welfare and employment. Two scenarios are analysed, namely the effect of a restriction of water available for irrigation, and an increase in water tariffs. Results show a relative shift away from (intensive) irrigated production, and a decrease in producer welfare, especially for irrigation farmers, under both scenarios. When water availability is decreased, the negative effect falls disproportionately on the poor as employment decreases. In the long run the negative effects are severe, as there is a relative shift out of industries where the Western Cape has a competitive advantage.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

THE AGRICULTURAL POTENTIAL OF SADC

Various institutions wanting to invest in agricultural production or the agribusiness sector in the SADC region need information on the quality and location of agricultural resources. Generating agricultural resource information on a regional level provides the challenge of integrating vast amounts of information from the various countries, implying storing, retrieving and manipulating it to determine areas best suited to grow a particular crop; or various crops that can be grown in a particular area. A Geographical Information System (GIS) has been developed as part of a broader project to assess the agricultural potential of SADC countries from a physical-biological-climatological point of view. Crop suitability maps obtained from the GIS containing information on resource quality, combined with transport modelling to add information on transport cost, can be used by private sector institutions for location decisions and the public sector for planning the provision of physical and social infrastructure. Incorporating resource data of the whole region implies that the available data on the climate, topography and soils of most of the SADC countries is coarse which only allows analyses on a national and regional level.International Development,

A DESCRIPTIVE ANALYSIS OF EMPLOYMENT TRENDS IN SOUTH AFRICAN AGRICULTURE

The working paper discusses the trends in farm employment over time in South Africa. This is followed by the presentation of six case studies of specific commodities and regions with the view to establishing the potential employment effects of various changes in the policy environment. The article ends with an assessment of selected aspects of the wider environment within which the sector operates, to ascertain the extent to which such policy shifts are feasible, i.e. whether the measured effects in employment generation are likely to happen.Labor and Human Capital,

Opportunistic behaviour by private irrigators within a capacity-sharing regime

The concept of capacity-sharing (as a specific type of demand-orientated water management strategy) is a relatively newcomer on the South African water management regime and much debate is currently under way regarding the viability of the concept for the South African context. One of the main features is that it decentralises and integrates water management to a much greater degree than state-dominated management regimes. However, as the concept of capacity-sharing allows a greater degree of decision-making autonomy to the private decision-maker, the question could be asked to what extent the management of a capacity-sharing regime would be exposed to opportunistic behaviour from private irrigators. If it is heavily exposed, there are considerable scope for opportunistic decision-making behaviour under private decision-makers and therefore problems of moral hazard / adverse selection and rent seeking could present itself. Therefore, the question arises what safety features do capacity sharing present to confine possible opportunistic decision-making practices. This article discusses two areas within a capacity-sharing regime that are likely to be exposed to opportunistic decision-making behaviour. Possible safety-features from capacity sharing to account for this type of behaviour are identified and discussed briefly. This article concludes with the notion that capacity sharing does feature some properties that could minimise opportunistic behaviour from private decision-makers.Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

Comparative advantage of organic wheat production in the Western Cape

In a context in which the framework of agricultural policy and business is changing radically the objective of the government and farmers should be to support the development of systems that look likely to be winners in the future. As a result this paper uses a Policy Analysis Matrix (PAM) to determine whether wheat production would have a comparative advantage if produced under organic practices. The paper starts by analysing the comparative advantage of wheat under conventional practices, and later contrasts conventional with organic practices. The results of the analyses mainly indicate a comparative advantage for wheat grown under organic practices especially when the social cost benefit ratio (SCB) is incorporated into the analyses. This is because the domestic resource cost (DRC) criterion that is used by the PAM is confirmed to understate the social profitability of systems that use domestic factors intensively like organic wheat systems and favours systems that use less of these factors like conventional systems. The results also show the existence of distortions in the market even if wheat were to be produced under organic practises, although these are shown to be less than for wheat produced under conventional practices.Crop Production/Industries,

The potential impact of the Doha Development Agenda on the South African economy: liberalising OECD agriculture and food trade

This article reports the results of a static computable general equilibrium (CGE) model on the possible liberalisation of agriculture and food trade in the OECD countries. Liberalisation of trade was simulated assuming a reduction in import tariffs, the tax rate on factor use and export subsidies in four steps of 25% points each. Such simulations were run in the GLOBE model then adjusted and used as a policy shock to the PROVIDE model. The results show that the weighed average world price (adjusted) changes will range between -19.6 to +3.8% for imports and between -3.0 and +29.7% for exports at 75% liberalisation. The results from the single country CGE model show that the South African economy would respond positively to the world price changes, with government and macro variables showing minimal but positive responses. Household consumption expenditures generally show positive changes, implying increased factor incomes. Not all sectors will be positively affected even though the overall effect is positive.Agricultural and Food Policy,

Characteristics of the agricultural sector of the 21st Century

The objective of this paper is to identify some of the salient characteristics of agriculture in the new millennium. The driving force behind economic change is technology and information, and information and knowledge will replace land, labour and capital as the sources of wealth in agriculture. The resultant cognitive-technical complex in farm production will lead to the true industrialisation of farming and thus placing the traditional family farmer at a distinct disadvantage. Technology developments combined with inverse population growth and ageing population, will not only negate Malthusian visions, but also lead to downward pressure on farm commodity prices, and thus increase the adoption rates of new technology. However, in reaction to the increasingly complex nature of modern society a demand is developing for terroir-based products. This range of products may not only significantly change some characteristics of agriculture, but also provide a new set of opportunities for farmers. Agricultural policy and development strategies should also be reconsidered in the light of this new environment.Agricultural and Food Policy,