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increase investment in cereals and wheat in Western Canada.
Also, given the fact that most other developed countries
conform to UPOV 91, he believes it only makes sense for
Canada to keep pace.
“Having said that,” continued Erickson, “we do have three
conditions that we feel are critical in the implementation stage
of UPOV 91.”
First, Erickson said the AWC wants assurance that Canada’s
legislation will state that farmers have the continued right to
save their own seed, clean it and use it on their own farms.
“Under UPOV 91, what we understand is that it has to be
explicit in the implementation that farmers are able to use farm-
saved seed,” he pointed out. Early indications suggest that the
government’s proposed legislation will include this so-called
“farmers’ exception” which is part of UPOV 91, guaranteeing
their right to save seed from their own crop, and to clean and
condition it for use on their own land.
Second, the AWC worries that a new emphasis on the private
sector will weaken AAFC’s role in plant development.
“We don’t want [AAFC] to see this as a way out,” Erickson
said. “We want to see Ag Canada still maintaining funding in
basic breeding and pre-breeding. We still think there’s a public
good to Ag Canada, and there’s still a role for the public and the
taxpayers to support agriculture through Ag Canada.”
Finally, Erickson said the AWC expects the government to
protect the long-term investment farmers and taxpayers have
already made in plant breeding.
“We want to see something recognizing that producers have
put money into those programs in the past, and we don’t want
to lose that in the future.
The CFIA has spent several years trying to allay farmers’
concerns regarding UPOV 91. On its website, an FAQ page
addresses issues including farm-saved seed and end-point
royalties.
“Would amending the Canadian Plant Breeders’ Rights Act
to conform to the 1991 UPOV Convention (UPOV 91) affect
Canadian farmers?” the page asks. Its answer begins with a
one-word sentence: “No.”
The CFIA doesn’t have to promote its message to Canada’s
plant breeders—a group that, not surprisingly, has consistently
pushed for new PBR legislation.
Bob Mastin has been a pedigreed seed grower in Sundre,
AB, for 35 years. About eight years ago, he started acquiring
and distributing varieties from research stations. He chuckles
when UPOV critics raise the spectre of greedy multinational
corporations—“I’m probably one of the smallest seed-
distribution companies in Canada,” he pointed out.
If Canada fails to conform to UPOV 91, Mastin argued,
Canada’s plant breeders will eventually lose access to top
genetic materials from elsewhere in the world. Once they start
to fall behind, so will Canada’s farmers.
Patty Townsend, CEO of the Canadian Seed Trade
Association, is relieved to see the legislation moving forward. In
Winter
2014
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As quickly as UPOV 91 formally started to make the rounds in
Ottawa, a new organization,
Partners in Innovation
, sprang up in
support.
The members, who represent Canadian farmer and agricultural
groups, said further seed variety protection for breeders will ulti-
mately benefit producers and the country’s economy.
“Adopting UPOV 1991 will mean that Canadian breeders will have
intellectual property protection tools that are comparable to those
used by breeders around the world, opening newmarkets for Ca-
nadian innovations and giving Canadian farmers access to genetics
and varieties developed internationally,” said Peter Entz, president
of the Canadian Seed Trade Association.
MEMBERS include:
Alberta Barley Commission
Canadian Horticultural Council
Canadian Ornamental Horticulture Alliance
Canadian Potato Council
Canadian Seed Trade Association
Fédération des Producteurs de Cultures Commerciales du Québec
Grain Farmers of Ontario
Grain Growers of Canada
Manitoba Pulse Growers Association
The Prairie Oat Growers Association
Western CanadianWheat Growers Association
PARTNERS IN INNOVATION