Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations  
International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture

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    The Inventory

    This online version of the Inventory presents, for each measure, the title and a brief description with information on implementing organization(s), start year, objectives, core elements, key outcomes, and, if applicable, lessons learned. It thus allows users to quickly identify those examples that may be of interest to them. A hyperlink to the original submission is provided, which includes additional information, such as on the history and context of the presented measure, challenges encountered, or target groups reached. In this way, users can get a more comprehensive idea of the measure in question and the specific context for which it was developed.
     
    To facilitate navigation, the Inventory is subdivided into eleven categories. Measures or practices that fall under more than one category are listed under each one that applies. Furthermore, information is provided on the type(s) of measures that are typically involved, such as technical, administrative, legal, and/or others, and on the relevant sub-article of Article 9 that is addressed. Additional search options allow searching by country, region, free text and keyword.
     
     
     
     
     
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    Number of records: 233

    111) Exceptions to IP rights (the private and non-commercial use exception and the farm saved seed exception)

    Plant breeder’s rights is a time-limited intellectual property right on plant varieties, limited through exceptions. The objective is to balance the interests of breeders and farmers and to create a system where both parties benefit. Acts done privately and for non-commercial purposes are exempted from the scope of the plant breeder’s right. Thus, subsistence farmers who carry out their normal practices can be covered by the private and non-commercial use exception. There is also an optional exception, the farm-saved seed exception or agricultural exception (Article 15(2) UPOV 1991 Convention). This exception, under certain conditions, allows farmers to use for propagating purposes, on their own holdings, the product of the harvest which they have obtained by planting, on their own holdings, the protected variety. According to UPOV Explanatory Note (UPOV/EXN/EXC/1), "small farmers" with small holdings might be permitted to use farm-saved seed to a different extent and with a different level of remuneration to breeders than "large farmers". In EU law, for example, small commercial farmers are exempted from the payment of remuneration on the use of farm-saved seed. Many UPOV members have implemented both the private and non-commercial use exception and the optional farm-saved seed exception in their national laws.

    Category: 10.Legal measures for the implementation of Farmers’ Rights, such as legislative measures related to PGRFA.

    Type of measure/practice: Administrative; Legal

    112) Implementation of EU directives on conservation and amateur varieties, and preservation mixtures

    Since 2009, Germany has translated several European directives, which aim to promote sustainable use of plant genetic resources, in national ordinances. Landraces and varieties naturally adapted to the local and regional conditions and significant for the conservation of plant genetic resources can be accepted for inclusion in the national list of registered varieties as ‘conservation varieties’. Vegetable varieties with no intrinsic value for commercial crop production can be registered as ‘amateur varieties’. Less stringent uniformity requirements apply to such varieties. Only limited amounts of seed of these varieties may be marketed. The seed does not require official certification but must meet the requirements for certified seed (agricultural varieties) or standard seed (vegetable varieties). The Federal Plant Variety Office (BSA) has registered 131 amateur and 48 conservation varieties as of June 2019.

    Category: 10.Legal measures for the implementation of Farmers’ Rights, such as legislative measures related to PGRFA.

    Type of measure/practice: Administrative; Legal

    113) Community Seed Bank model as a platform for seed multiplication and distribution including adapted farmer varieties

    This practice was conducted through the project "Harnessing dryland legume and cereals genetic resource for food and nutrition security and resilient farming systems in Malawi and Zambia" which started in 2019, and implemented by ICRISAT, together with the Department of Agricultural Services (DARS) in Malawi, the Zambia Agricultural Research Institution (ZARI) and farmer associations with funding from the Benefit-sharing Fund. The main objectives are to support farmers to sustainably use and conserve PGRFA for food and nutrition security and to build capacity of smallholder farmers to use improved varieties for food and nutrition security to enhance resilience in production in the face of climate variability, while realizing sustained incomes among women and youth. The project promoted community seed bank modelling as a platform for seed multiplication and distribution. Activities include: organization of farmers’ seed clubs; training on seed production and agribusiness; and establishment of demonstration trials for seed production and dissemination campaigns. The main outcomes: farmers are supported to maintain and conserve agrobiodiversity in areas vulnerable to climate change and food insecurity; enhanced availability of quality seeds, improved and/or farmer varieties and enhanced equity. The main lesson learned is that linking farmers to cooperatives and provisioning of appropriate training is important.

    Category: 6.Facilitation of farmers’ access to a diversity of PGRFA through community seed banks, seed networks and other measures improving farmers’ choices of a wider diversity of PGRFA.

    Type of measure/practice: Technical

    114) Global consultations on Farmers' Rights

    Norway, in cooperation with research organizations of the respective host country and the Fridtjof Nansen Institute, has been involved in three global consultations on Farmers' Rights, which took place in Lusaka, Zambia in 2007, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in 2010 and in Bali, Indonesia in 2016. All consultations sought to involve a wide range of participants, representing various stakeholders and regions. All consultations shared the purpose of producing constructive proposals to the sessions of the Governing Body regarding how to further enhance the implementation of Farmers' Rights. The second consultation consisted of an e-mail-based survey and an international conference with regional components, allowing more experts and stakeholders to participate. Participants actively engaged and shared views, experiences and examples of best practices relating to the implementation of Farmers’ Rights and discussed issues affecting their realization. Besides providing information to contracting parties and the Governing Body, these consultations have also strengthened the national implementation of Farmers' Rights in some countries and contributed to awareness raising among government representatives and other stakeholders. The documented experiences could thus serve as examples of options for encouraging, guiding and promoting the realization of Farmers’ Rights.

    Category: 9.Training, capacity development and public awareness creation

    Type of measure/practice: Others

    115) Application of constitutional and human rights measures by the Supreme Court of Justice of Honduras to declare unconstitutional the Law for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, based on the 1991 Act of the UPOV Convention

    On 17 November 2021, the Supreme Court of Justice of Honduras issued its judgment in the appeal of unconstitutionality against the Legislative Decree No. 21-2012 containing the Law for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants by the National Congress of Honduras on March 12, 2012. In this judgment, the Court applies several constitutional and international law measures that: guarantee the right to life, human dignity, and the right of Honduran men and women to have an adequate standard of living; guarantee the human right to food as the right of people to nutritious, healthy, and culturally adequate food; recognize the obligation of the State of Honduras to conserve an adequate environment to protect the health of its inhabitants; establish the duty of the State of Honduras to protect the native cultures of the country and farmers' rights as constitutionally and internationally recognized. Applying these legal measures, the Court declared Decree No. 21-2012 unconstitutional and, therefore, the Law for the Protection of Plant Varieties. The Court points out that this law "faithfully reflects the guidelines provided by UPOV" and violates farmers' rights as recognized by the ITPGRFA and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas

    Category: 10.Legal measures for the implementation of Farmers’ Rights, such as legislative measures related to PGRFA.

    Type of measure/practice: Legal