Report of the International Workshop on Registration of Farmers’ Varieties
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Date
2019
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Publisher
Bioversity International, Rome, Oxfam Novib, The Hague, National Agricultural Research Organisation
Abstract
The registration of farmers’ varieties in national and regional seed catalogues – as objects of seed regulation -- has been the subject of considerable debate in recent years, at local, national and international levels. Farmers have contributed immensely to the development, management and conservation of a wide range of crop varieties, but national seed regulations generally only focus on crop varieties that are the products of so-called ‘formal sector’ plant breeding. Article 9 of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) recognizes the contribution farmers have made to the conservation and development of plant genetic resources and stipulates that the responsibility of protection of farmers’ rights rests with national governments in accordance with their needs and priorities.
In addressing these challenges, an international workshop on registration of farmers’ varieties was held at the Imperial Botanical Beach Hotel in Entebbe, Uganda, in order to advance the understanding of farmers’ varieties and the gains from establishing mechanisms for their registration at both the global and national level. During the workshop, the participants were able to share global experiences from countries where farmers’ varieties and evolutionary populations have been registered and have an active supportive legal system. After reflecting on experiences from a range of countries and regions around the world, the participants narrowed their collective focus to the situation in Uganda, and Ugandan seed policies and laws in particular.
The current legal and policy framework in Uganda comprises the National Seed Policy (2018), the Seeds and Plant Act (2006), and the Seeds and Plant Regulations (2017).
However, they only focus on the so-called formal seed system, which produces only 20% of the nation’s seed on an annual basis. This legal framework does not provide policy support
for the production and distribution by small-scale farmers of quality seed of farmers’ varieties. However, the National Seed Policy (2018) recognizes that the informal seed system is strategic in conserving the biodiversity of landraces and meets 80 percent of the seed requirements in Uganda. It also allows the exchange of farm-saved seeds and recognizes quality-declared seeds (QDS). This is encouraging, but the existing legislation does not have provisions that support registration and commercialization of farmers’ varieties. This lack of a supportive policy environment denies farmers the right to produce and sell varieties they have helped to create and conserve for generations. Also, the draft policy on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (PGRFA), which provides a legal framework for registration of farmers’ varieties, is yet to be approved by the Cabinet.
Through participatory engagement of participants from national and international agricultural research institutions, academia, the private sector, farmers’ organizations, seed regulatory authorities, politicians and civil society organizations (CSOs), a roadmap for registration of farmers’ varieties in Uganda was developed to address the gaps in the current seed laws.
One of the critical actions was to push for Cabinet approval of a draft PGRFA policy that has recently been developed through a process of consultation. In addition, the participants discussed other variety registration and seed-certification standards that may hinder or help small-scale seed producers and/or participatory plant breeding.
From the sessions, it was observed that most participants had varied understanding of what farmers’ varieties are. This is due to a lack of a universally recognized taxonomic or legal definition of farmers’ varieties to refer to for clarity. However, the common characteristics of a farmers’ variety were identified as the following: having a historical origin, high genetic diversity, local adaptation, recognizable identity, no formal-sector genetic improvement, and association with traditional farming systems. These characteristics were found to be key in defining farmers’ varieties. Countries that have set up systems for registering farmers’ varieties have introduced relaxed standards.
The workshop participants also considered the issue of ownership of farmers’ varieties, which in many (perhaps most?) countries is dealt with through separate intellectual property
laws. Participants appeared to agree that farmers who have contributed to the development and conservation of farmers’ varieties should enjoy rights of control (which could be called
property rights) over those varieties, either as groups or individuals. For the case of group ownership, the participants considered the possibility of legal entities in which rights could be collectively vested (e.g. cooperatives, associations, community-based organizations, etc.). It was further noted that a range of different organizations (nongovernmental organizations,
local governments, companies) could usefully offer technical support to farmers as collaborators in the variety evaluation and registration process and, subsequently, in seed production activities.
Therefore, there is a need for champions and commitment from stakeholders, as well as resources to address gaps in the registration of farmers’ varieties. It is also necessary to clearly justify the key benefits of registering farmers’ varieties and, most importantly, put in
place a flexible and relaxed regulatory framework for such registration.
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Citation
Recha, T., Muwanika, C., de Jonge, B., Mulumba, J.W., Nankya, R. and Otieno, G. (2019) Report of the International Workshop on Registration of Farmers’ Varieties, 4-7 December 2018, Entebbe, Uganda. Bioversity International, Rome, Oxfam Novib, The Hague, National Agricultural Research Organisation, Entebbe.