ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the impact of plant breeders’ rights (PBR) regimes on the ability of farmers to save seed and engage in the conservation and enhancement of plant genetic resources that provide the raw genetic material for new crop varieties. In developed countries, intellectual property regimes for plant variety innovations have become well established over the last four decades. By circumscribing farmers’ ability to save seed from protected varieties for use from one harvest to the next, such regimes are believed to strengthen incentives for private investment in plant breeding. Over the last decade, several developing countries have also adopted PBR protection systems in compliance with the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). Restrictions on the use of farm-saved seed are of major concern due to the adverse implications these could have for farm livelihoods—especially for subsistence farmers and smallholders. For this reason, attempts have been made in some developing counties to balance the monopoly rights that PBR regimes confer on institutional breeders with Farmers’ Rights provisions that seek to reward farming communities for conservation of plant genetic resources and encourage on-farm innovation. In contrast with developed countries, therefore, it is possible that PBR regimes in developing countries may have only a limited impact on the ability of farmers to save seed and engage in on-farm innovation. However, this chapter will argue that the legal frameworks emerging in developing countries provide ineffectual intellectual property protection, significantly diluting incentives for institutional breeders while providing few rewards for on-farm conservation or innovation.
