Commentary on the draft proposal for the establishment of a native seeds registry in Costa Rica

Costa Rican seed law requires that varieties are appropriately registered and that they meet specific technical requirements before they can be commercialized. In practice, this implies that the seeds sold by farmers – known nationally as ‘native’ (nativas) or ‘local’ (locales) seeds – could not be legally commercialized in the either formal or informal markets if they are not registered with the National Seeds Office.