Benefits and shortcomings of intellectual property rights for small scale farmers in developing countries

Rafael Mariano from the Peasant Movement of the Philippines presents his case arguing that intellectual property rights, and more broadly science, have been co-opted by business interests (supported by the US) to strengthen their control over agricultural production and to open up new markets at the expense of small farmers and developing countries.In particular he argues: The 1991 Act of the International Union for the Protection of New Plant Varieties (UPOV) significantly strengthens the rights of corporate plant breeders, at the expense of farmers’ rightsTRIPs promotes the private rights of corporations over local communities, allows transnational corporations to keep drug prices and has recently been invoked to stop developing countries from providing generic, cheaper drugs to AIDS patients in the Third World.Biodiversity-rich countries are coming under intense pressure to adopt US-style intellectual property laws through “harmonisation of world trade rules.”Plant variety protection and patents restrict the rights of farmers to share, use and save seeds from their harvests and violate farmers and farm communities’ rights to conserve, develop, use, control, and benefit not only from local diversity but also rural peoples’ knowledge system and technology.Farmer’s access to gene banks is not always guaranteed. It will often depend on the goodwill of those responsible for the banks, rather than on the recognition of farmer’s rights.IN response the author advocates:Gene banks should implement Material Transfer Agreements that prevent claims of ownership or any form of intellectual property right over genetic material.Guarantee meaningful participation in the development of regulations related to registration and production of local & industrial varieties.Monitor and assess the impact of intellectual property the concentration of power in agriculture and genetic engineering on biodiversity.Promote food sovereignty and biodiversity-rich farming under the control of local communities.This paper was presented at the International Symposium organised by infoagrar entitled “Protect Knowledge to Feed the World? Application of intellectual property rights in international agriculture today and tomorrow”