Farmers' Crop Varieties and Farmers' Rights
Challenges in Taxonomy and Law
Published on 21. March 2016
420 pages
978-1-136-53754-7 (ISBN)
Description
Over the last 50 years there has been a growing appreciation of the important role that farmers play in the development and conservation of crop genetic diversity, and the contribution of that diversity to agro-ecosystem resilience and food security. This book examines policies that aim to increase the share of benefits that farmers receive when others use the crop varieties that they have developed and managed, i.e., 'farmers varieties'. In so doing, the book addresses two fundamental questions. The first question is 'how do farmer management practices - along with other factors such as environment and the breeding systems of plants - affect the evolution and maintenance of discrete farmers' varieties?' The second question is 'how can policies that depend on being able to identify discrete plant varieties accommodate the agricultural realities associated with the generation, use and maintenance of farmers' varieties?' This focus on discreteness is topical because there are no fixed, internationally recognized taxonomic or legal definitions of farmers' varieties. And that presents a challenge when developing policies that involve making specific, discrete farmers' varieties the subject of legal rights or privileges.
The book includes contributions from a wide range of experts including agronomists, anthropologists, geneticists, biologists, plant breeders, lawyers, development practitioners, activists and farmers. It includes case studies from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe where, in response to a diversity of contributing factors, there have been efforts to develop policies that provide incentives or rewards to farmers as stewards of farmers' varieties in ways that are sensitive to the cultural, taxonomic and legal complexities involved. The book situates these initiatives in the context of the evolving discourse and definition of 'farmers' rights', presenting insights for future policy initiatives.
The book includes contributions from a wide range of experts including agronomists, anthropologists, geneticists, biologists, plant breeders, lawyers, development practitioners, activists and farmers. It includes case studies from Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe where, in response to a diversity of contributing factors, there have been efforts to develop policies that provide incentives or rewards to farmers as stewards of farmers' varieties in ways that are sensitive to the cultural, taxonomic and legal complexities involved. The book situates these initiatives in the context of the evolving discourse and definition of 'farmers' rights', presenting insights for future policy initiatives.
Reviews / Votes
"Putting farmers' rights at the centre of policy initiatives is crucial for agricultural biodiversity in ACP countries. This book is a valuable contribution to the complex yet worthwhile project to conserve farmers' diverse crop varieties." - Spore (2016, issue 181)More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
19 Tables, black and white; 4 Line drawings, black and white; 23 Illustrations, black and white
File size
1,83 MB
ISBN-13
978-1-136-53754-7 (9781136537547)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
Book
03/2016
1st Edition
Earthscan Ltd
€207.98
Shipment within 3-4 weeks
Book
03/2016
1st Edition
Earthscan Ltd
€91.50
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Person
Michael Halewood is a senior scientist and leader of the Genetic Resources Policies, Institutions and Monitoring Group at Bioversity International, Rome, Italy.
Content
1. Introduction Michael Halewood and Isabel Lapena Part 1: Dynamism in the Field: Factors Affecting the Evolution and Maintenance of Distinct Traits in Farmer's Variety 2. Technical Challenges in Identifying Farmer Varieties Jeremy Cherfas 3. The Farmers' Role in Creating New Genetic Diversity Carlo Fadda Part 2: Case Studies at the Interface of Farmer Variety Enhancement Efforts and National Policies 4. Leveraging the Successful Participatory Improvement of Pokhareli Jethobudhu for National Policy Development in Nepal Pratap Kumar Shrestha 5. Promoting Policy Support for the Enhancement and Marketing of Farmers' Varieties in Vietnam Nguyen Thi Ngoc Hue and Michael Halewood 6. Participatory Barley Breeding in Syria: Policy Bottlenecks and Responses Salvatore Ceccarelli Part 3: The International Policy Context: Global Systems of Conservation and Use and Farmers' Rights 7. Historical Context: Evolving International Cooperation on Crop Genetic Resources Regine Anderson 8. Farmers' Rights: Evolution of the International Policy Debate and National Implementation Regine Andersen Part 4: Identifying Discrete Farmers' Varieties in Law 9. Sui Generis IPR Protections for Farmers' Varieties Carlos Correa 10. Variety Registration: The Evolution of Registration Systems with a Special Emphasis on Agro-biodiversity Conservation Niels Louwaars and Francois Burgaud 11. Defensive Protection of Farmers' Varieties Isabel Lopez Noriega 12. Institutional Capacity and Implementation Issues in Farmers' Rights C.S. Srinivasan Part 5: Case studies of National Laws 13. Commentary on the Indian Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act 2001 Dwijen Rangnekar 14. Commentary on the Malaysian Protection of New Varieties Act 2004 Lim Eng Siang 15. Commentary on Egypt's Law on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights Mohammed Eid Megeed 16. Commentary on Thailand's Plant Varieties Protection Act Gabrielle Gagne and Chutima Ratanasatien 17. Commentary on the Zambian Plant Breeders' Rights Act Godfrey Mwila 18. Commentary on the Nepalese Seeds Act and the Seeds Regulation Pratap Shrestha 19. Variety Regulation in the United State of America Richard J. Blaustein 20. Commentary on Law no. 10711 Regulating the Brazilian National Seed and Seedling System Juliana Santilli 21. Commentary on Variety Registration Regulation in Italy Alejandro Mejias, Enrico Bertacchini and Riccardo Bocci 22. Commentary on the Zambian Plant Variety and Seeds Act, 1998 Godfrey Mwila 23. Commentary on the Regulation on Management of Farm Households' Plant Varieties in Vietnam Nguyen Van Dinh and Nguyen Ngoc Kinh 24. Commentary on the Registry of Native Crops in Peru: Law 28477 and the Registry of Native Potatoes Manuel Ruiz Muller 25. Analysis of the Draft Proposal for the Establishment of a Special System for the Registry and Commercialization of Native Seeds (Farmers' Seeds) in Costa Rica Jorge Cabrera Medaglia 26. Registration of Traditional Varieties under Benin Seed Regulation Raymond Vodouhe with Michael Halewood
