Page 36 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 15

UPOV
Community
UPOV is the French acronym for the International Union for the Protection of New Vari-
eties of Plants. Officially an intergovernmental body since 1961, it as worked exclusively and
explicitly for the privatization of seeds around the world by imposing intellectual property
rights on plant varieties. Member states must join the UPOV Convention, and write it into An important strong arm tactic
national law.
used by industrialised countries to
The Convention was first drafted in 1961 and has been revised three times (in 1972, 1978 and push for seed privatisation across
1991), each time to strengthen the rights of corporate breeders and re strict what others can the world is including it in bilateral
do with the seeds. The 1991 revision was particularly controversial because it eliminated the or regional trade agreements. One
right of farmers to save privatised seeds and also limited what other plant breeders can do
with that seed. could wonder what the right of
small farmers to save seeds has to
For most of its history UPOV has been a small and rather obscure club of mostly rich coun- do with free trade, but for the trade
tries that wanted to advance the interests of their seed companies. negotiators that link is very clear:
peasants saving and exchanging
At the time of the last revision, 1991, only 20 countries were members. But after the World
Trade Organization agreed in 1994 that all WTO member countries should have intellectual seed are competing with the global
property rights for plant varieties, UPOV membership quickly increased and over 70 countries seed trade. The goal is to ensure
are members today. Much of this was due to arm twisting by rich countries to get non-indus- that companies like Monsanto or
trialised countries to sign on, like through the trade agreements. Syngenta can control seed trade in
general and maximise profits from
do with their seeds.2 over exclusive rights to corpora- their seeds business by preventing
tions to control the seed supply. farmers from multiplying and saving
This primer is meant to further In some cases, this is made very seeds – a bit like the way Hollywood
explain how farmers are affected by explicit. For example, a model seed or Microsoft try to stop people from
seed laws, illustrated with extracts law for Southern African countries copying and sharing films or soft-
from legislation from a variety of promoted by USAID stipulates that ware. So, in all the trade agreements
countries. the national seed agency “shall take the USA has signed, it has included
the necessary measures to promote a paragraph that obliges the other
International pressure to pri- the seed industry enhancement and country to join – as a minimum
vatise seeds development”.3 – the 1991 version of the UPOV
Convention, which gives corporate
Corporations are using multiple Although it can be argued that small plant breeders intellectual property
rights over plant varieties.
strategies to control and monopolise local seed producers could also be
seeds. A fundamental one is putting part of the seed industry, the fact is The European Union is applying
pressure on countries to privatise that governments are responding to exactly the same policy, and Japan is
seeds through legislation that pro- pressure from big companies, and moving in the same direction. If the
vides what is called plant breeders’ the rules are clearly biased in favour Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement
rights or plant variety protection. of big companies, not local seed
producers – through requirements (TPP) is signed, matters will proba-
But there are other regulations with on the facilities and staff needed to bly get worse, as leaked documents
show that the US is pushing not
similar aims: patent laws for plants market seeds, for example. Govern- only for UPOV 91 type of legisla-
are becoming increasingly common, ments are also being forced to keep tion, but also for the patenting of
and then there are seed certification the public sector out of any seed plants and animals.5
laws, seed marketing regulations breeding or distribution activities.
and food safety rules. Many social For example, the government put Article 15.2. Each Party shall ratify
movements have dubbed them in place after the US invasion of or accede to the following agree-
“Monsanto Laws” to highlight the Afghanistan duly returned the ments:
transnational seed corporation that favour by including the following re- e) the International Convention for
has been active in their drafting – quirement in its new seed law: “the the Protection of New Varieties of
and who will benefit most from Ministry shall take such steps as are Plants (1991) (UPOV Convention);
their adoption. necessary to ensure that the produc- US-Morocco Free Trade Agree-
tion and trade in all kinds of seeds
The new rules may be imposed are undertaken by the private sector ment6
as laws, decrees, executive orders, and that the Ministry shall divest By the end of the fourth year
administrative orders, ministerial itself of all seed production and after the entry into force of the
regulations, etc., but their purpose is trading enterprises and activities”.4 Agreement, Egypt shall accede the
the same across the board: handing
following multilateral conventions

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