J. VESPER SUGLO Director PPRSD ACCRA

1. INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION FOR THE PROTECTION OF NEW VARIETIES OF PLANTS AND THE GHANA PLANT BREEDERS’ BILL, 2013 J. VESPER SUGLO Director PPRSD ACCRA

2. ORDEROF PRESENTATION • INTRODUCTION • UPOV CONVENTION • CONDITIONS OF PROTECTION • DURATION OF PROTECTION • MEASURES REGULATING COMMERCE • NULLITY OF BREEDER’S RIGHT • CANCELLATION OF BREEDER’S RIGHT • BENEFITS OF VARIETY PROTECTION • EMGRGINGING CONCERNS

3. INTRODUCTION • Breeders, whether individuals enthusiasts, farmers, research institutes or multinationals, work to develop new plant varieties • Improved varieties are a necessary means of improving productivity, quality and marketability of farmers and growers • However, breeding new varieties of plants require a sustainable investment of skills, labour, material resources, money and time

4. INTRODUCTION CONT’D • It can take more than 15 years to bring a new variety to the market • Intellectual Property(IP) Protection is therefore afforded to plant breeders as an incentive for the development of new varieties to contribute to sustainable progress in agriculture, horticulture and forestry

5. THE CONVENTION • The International Conventionfor the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV)was passed originally on Dec. 2nd , 1961. • It was revised at Geneva on Dec. 10th , 1972 again Oct. 23rd 1978 and March 19th, 1991 as Act of 1991.

6. THE CONVENTION CONT’D • The Geneva-based International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) is an independent intergovernmental Organization • Its mission is to provide and promote an effective system of plant variety protection, with the aim of encouraging the development of new varieties of plants for the benefit of society

7. THE CONVENTION CONT’D • UPOV administers the UPOV Convention, the purpose of which is to ensure that its members acknowledge the achievement of breeders of new varieties of plants by granting them an intellectual property right on the basis of a set of clearly defined principles

8. THE CONVENTION CONT’D • The opportunity to obtain certain exclusive rights in respect of new varieties provides successful plant breeders with a better chance of recovering their cost and accumulating the funds necessary for further investment

9. THE CONVENTION CONT’D • Without such rights, there would be nothing to prevent others from reproducing the new variety and selling it on commercial scale, with no benefit accruing to the breeder

10. CONDITIONS OF PROTECTION • The breeders’ right shall be granted where the variety is: • New • Distinct • Uniform and • Stable

11. DURATION OF THE BREEDERS’ RIGHT • The breeders’ right shall be for a fixed period • The said period shall not be shorter than 20 years from the date of the grant of the breeders’ right • For trees and vines, the said period shall not be shorter than 25 years from the said date

12. MEASURES REGULATING COMMERCE • The breeder’s right shall be independent of any measure taken by a Contracting Party to regulate within its territory the production, certification and marketing of materials of varieties or improving or exporting of such materials

13. MEASURES REGULATING COMMERCE CONT”D • In any case, such measures shall not affect the application of the provisions of this Convention

14. NULLITY OF THE BREEDER’S RIGHT • Each Contracting Party shall declare a breeder’s right granted by it null and void when it is established that: • The laid down conditions were not complied at the time of grant of the breeder's right

15. NULLITY OF THE BREEDER’S RIGHTCONT”D • Information and documentation furnished by the breeder for uniformity and stability were not complied with at the time of grant of the breeder’s right, or • The breeder’s right has been granted to a person who is not entitled to it, unless it is transferred to the person who is so entitled

16. CANCELLATION OF THE BREEDER’S RIGHT CONT’D • Each Contracting Party may cancel a breeder’s right granted by it if it is established that the conditions for uniformity and stability are no longer fulfilled • Furthermore, each Contracting Party may cancel a breeder's right granted by it if, after being requested to do so and within a prescribed period;

17. CANCELLATION OF THE BREEDER’S RIGHT CONT’D • The breeder does not provide the authority with the information, documents or materials deemed necessary for verifying the maintenance of the variety • The breeder fails to pay such fees as may be payable to keep his right in force

18. CANCELLATION OF THE BREEDER’S RIGHT CONT’D • The breeder does not propose, where the denomination of the variety is cancelled after grant of right, another suitable denomination • No breeder’s right shall be cancelled for reasons other than those referred to above

19. BENEFITS OF VARIETY PROTECTION • There are many and varied benefits of new varieties but notable amongst these are: • Economic benefits, such as varieties with improved yields which lead to reduction in price of end-products for consumption, or improved quality leading to higher marketability

20. BENEFITS OF VARIETY PROTECTION CONT’D • Health benefits, for example through varieties with improved nutritional content • Environmental benefits, such as varieties with improved disease resistance or stress tolerance; and • Pleasure, such as that afforded by ornamental plants

21. EMERGING CONCERNS FROM NEW MEMBER REQUESTS • In examining the new member requests UPOV came to the realization that civil society warned against: • A draft African legal framework of plant variety protection that they said could impact the dominant subsistence farming systems in some African states

22. EMERGING CONCERNS FROM NEW MEMBER REQUESTS CONT’D • Rules that could endanger small farmers • However, the UPOV council also examined the Plant Breeder’s Bill of Ghana, which was presented to the Ghanaian Parliament, and decided that changes made during the first reading of the Bill by Parliament in June 2013 did not affect the substantive provisions of the 1991 Act of the UPOV Convention

23. EMERGING CONCERNS FROM NEW MEMBER REQUESTS CONT’D • Once the bill is adopted and the law in force, Ghana will be able to accede to the 1991 Act of the UPOV Convention

24. CONCERNS BY CIVIL SOCIETY OF GHANA We the undersigned, representatives of the respective civil society, religious, and political organizations; do hereby petition the house to urgently consider the following proposed amendments:

25. CONCERNS BY CIVIL SOCIETY OF GHANA CONT’D • The application of the plant breeder’s right • Shall be accompanied by an affidavit sworn by the applicant that such variety does not contain any gene or gene sequence involving terminator technology;

26. CONCERNS BY CIVIL SOCIETY OF GHANA CONT’D • Shall contain a complete passport data of the parental lines from which the variety has been derived along with the geographical location from where the genetic material has been taken and all such information relating to the contribution, if any, of any farmer, village community, institution or organization in breeding, evolving or developing the variety

27. CONCERNS BY CIVIL SOCIETY OF GHANA CONT’D • Contain a declaration that the genetic material or parental material acquired for breeding, evolving or developing the variety has been lawfully acquired

28. CONCERNS BY CIVIL SOCIETY OF GHANA CONT’D • Shall be accompanied with the prior written consent of the authority representing the local community or the indigenous people in cases where the plant variety is developed from traditional varieties and evidence of fair and equitable benefit sharing

29. CONCERNS BY CIVIL SOCIETY OF GHANA CONT’D • Shall be supported by documents relating to the compliance of any law regulating activities involving genetically modified organisms in cases where the development of the plant variety involves genetic modification

30. Thank you