International integration - IPR and impacts to indigenous seed

1. International integration - IPR and impacts to indigenous seed SANRM-EMWG 07-03-2006

2. Overview • Intellectual property rights • Biodiversity and Intellectual property issues • Intellectual property and indigenous/local communities • Impacts on small scale farmers • What needs to be done?

3. I. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) • Legal definition: Legal rights aimed at ensuring exclusive control over products of innovation and excluding others from using such innovations without the explicit consent of the right owner • Objectives • originally meant to industrial innovations • society’s reward for innovation • ensure return of investment in time and resources

4. I. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) • Expanded scope: beyond legal, including technological IPRs • Technological IPRs: same end as legal forms • exclusive/monopoly rights • limit access to protected product • need for consent of the owner • ensures return of investments

5. I. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) • Restrictions in Technological IPRs: • Restriction in access • Restriction on re-use and saving • Genetic restriction (i.e., Terminator Technology) • Most modern technologies in rice (I.e., hybrid, GMOs) are protected by legal IPRs (I.e., patents, PVP/PBRs)

6. I. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) • Legal forms • Patents • Plant Variety Protection/Plant Breeders’ Rights • Technological forms • Hybrid seeds • Genetically engineered/modified seeds • Genetic Use Restriction Technologies (GURTs)

7. I. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) • Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Article 27.3(b) “Members may exclude from patentability plants and animals other than micro-organisms, and essentially biological processes for the production of plants or animals other than non-biological and microbiological processes. However, Members shall provide for the protection of plant varieties either by patents or by an effective sui generis system or by any combination thereof…”

8. I. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) • Requires Members to apply patents on microorganisms, non-biological and microbiological processes • Options for protection of plant varieties • Patents • Effective sui generis system (UPOV as an example) • Combination of both

9. I. Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) • Confers monopoly rights to inventors/ creators • Criteria: Highly technical criteria and administrative processes required • PBR: D U S N (Distinct, Uniform, Stable, Novel ) • Patent: Innovativeness, Industrial Applicability, Non-obviousness • Term: usually 20 years • Biased against farmers and farmers’ varieties: diverse, based on traditional varieties

10. II. Biodiversity and Intellectual property issues • The accelerating loss of biological diversity • Thousands of different and genetically unique plant varieties • Today: • about 150 plant species are cultivated • Half the world’s plant-based food supply comes from a limited numbers of varieties of few plant species (rice, wheat, maize, potatoes…)

11. II. Biodiversity and Intellectual property issues • Green revolution • high yielding, high input plants • top down system of agriculture research => dependence on few plant varieties => genetic erosion • According to FAO, replacement of local varieties with improved or exotic varieties, or both, is the major cause of genetic erosion

12. II. Biodiversity and Intellectual property issues • Paradox: success of agricultural science => • concentration of small number of varieties designed for intensive agriculture • dramatic reduction in the diversity of plant varieties available for continued agricultural research and development

13. II. Biodiversity and Intellectual property issues • On-farm conservation and use of PGR • Farmers and indigenous people are critical to the conservation, use and active enhancement of biological diversity => prominent feature of CBD, Farmers’ rights • Support and recognition for on-farm conservation and farmer-driven breeding is growing: PPB

14. II. Biodiversity and Intellectual property issues • The changing roles of public and private sector in agriculture research • Privatization of agricultural research • IP laws has allowed for the patenting of living organisms, enabling biotechnology companies to patent biological processes and products => increasing incentives for the private sector to invest in agricultural research

15. II. Biodiversity and Intellectual property issues • Financial constraints for national agricultural research institutions as well as international research centres of the CGIAR (Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research) => increased role of the private sector • New partnerships between the public and private sectors

16. II. Biodiversity and Intellectual property issues • Consolidation in life sciences industry • Top 10 agrochemical corporations account for 91% of the $31 billion agrochemical market worldwide (1999) • Top 10 global seed companies control ~ 1/4 – 1/3 of the $30 billion commercial seed trade (1999) • Top 5 vegetable seed companies control 75% of the global vegetable seed market (1999) • 4 companies control 69% of the North American maize seed market (1998) • End of 1998, a single company controlled 71% of the US cotton seed market

17. Source: ETC group

18. Source: ETC group

19. Biotech patents on rice genes, transgenic rice plants, methods Source: SEARICE

20. Source: SEARICE

21. II. Biodiversity and Intellectual property issues • Transgenic crops commercialized • 1986-1997: ~ 25000 field trials by 45 countries on more than 60 crops and 10 traits • Soybean, maize, cotton, potato, canola and rice • International Seed Trade Federation expected to reach $6 billion by 2005 and $20 billion in 2010 for GM seed

22. II. Biodiversity and Intellectual property issues • Consumers, farmers and some governments concern about potential impacts on health, safety and environment • Demand for rigorous bio-safety regulations and mandatory labeling of GMO products

23. II. Biodiversity and Intellectual property issues • Restrictions on the right of farmers • Personal use and non-commercial purposes • Use the harvest for multiplication and cultivate on their own holdings

24. III. Impacts on Small Rice Farmers • Impedes farmers’ rights to save, use, exchange and sell farm-saved seeds • GM rice: protected by patents • Hybrid rice: limits saving and re-using through reduced seed vigor in subsequent planting • Will further bury farmers in poverty, landlessness and indebtedness • Specific inputs for hybrid and GM rice • Higher costs of registered and hybrid seeds • High costs of inputs

25. III. Impacts on Small Rice Farmers • Further soil degradation, pest infestation and water contamination • increased use of herbicides • increased use specific chemicals (in GURTs) • increased use of chemical fertilizers • Dependence on seeds and chemical inputs produced by TNCs • Will reduce farmers’ roles from breeders to end-users and consumers of seeds and inputs produced by private companies

26. III. Impacts on Small Rice Farmers • Threats to food security • Monoculture/monocropping: less source of balanced nutrients • Narrowing of food and nutrition base • Focus on industrial and commercial crops over food crops • Legal and technological IPRs in the context of policies on agricultural liberalization

27. III. Impacts on Small Rice Farmers • Increased control of transnational corporations in R&D, commercialization • Hybrid rice • GM seeds • Agro-chemical inputs • Centralization of agricultural research in private hands • Disappearance of line that divides public and private research and development interests and efforts

28. III. Impacts on Small Rice Farmers • Further genetic uniformity and erosion • Cultural erosion • East Asia: rice-based cultures • transformation in agricultural practices and systems, norms and values

29. TNCs Seeds, fertilizers, pesticides Public agr. Research institutions Dependency Industrialized agriculture Small scale farmers GMOs + terminator technology National (agricultural) policies CBD, ITPGRFA Int’l trade regimes WTO, FTA (IPRs, UPOV…)

30. What Needs to be Done? • Broadening research participation • Governments and NGOs increase contributions, supports and strengthen their long-term commitment to agricultural research, PPB, in-situ GR conservation • Protecting biodiversity • Say no to terminator technology

31. What Needs to be Done? • Propose and Promote farmer-based seeds production, saving and exchange systems • Close monitoring of TNC interests and investments in seeds • Closer look on TNC partnerships with governments on seeds research, production and commercialization • Education / Awareness-raising

32. What Needs to be Done? • Facilitate access, exchange and benefit sharing • Balancing treaty obligation (CBD, IT PGRFA) • Implementing Global Plan of Action • …….