Newspaper Página 12 - Supplement Cash

The Argentinean Government is planning to modify the current seed-law. In the context of the high levels of conflict that has given rise to a possible change to the law in recent years, the urgency and secrecy shown by the government in drawing up the project is worrying.

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The seed law establishes the conditions under which rights can be claimed on a seed; intellectual property rights recognize who is the owner of the seed.

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The current law (Nº 20.427, on Semillas y Creaciones Fitogenéticas) bestows a property right for fifteen years to those

who modify and register a “new” seed. This right has two limitations: it cannot prevent farmers from replanting seed and it cannot restrict the use of seed as a basis for developing new varieties.

The companies argue that this law does not protect their investments in innovation. They want to be able to ban the possibility of replanting seed, and to widen property rights.

Many sectors in Argentina expressed their concern over this claim because they think it will affect: (a) the possibility of replanting seed, and thus the survival of the sector, impacting on food security and the cultural heritage of our country; (b) the innovation model of the sector because it would block access to germplasm for research and development (c) the possibilities of preserving socio-economic diversity and biodiversity in the long term.

The existing law, or at least its scope, needs to be rediscussed. At the moment, seeds in Argentina are covered by the Seed law but also the Patent law and these two laws come into conflict because the former allows the re-use of seed, and the latter restricts it.

International evidence clearly indicates that where intellectual property rights are stronger the seed market has become concentrated in a few mutinational corporations and biological diversity has been lost. Unlike other countries, Argentina has a rich and diverse seed sector, with significant participation by domestic actors, who are highly innovative. This sector works with an innovation model which is unlike the one proposed by multinational companies; it is founded on the free flow of genetic materials and knowledge.

There are alternative systems of intellectual property that can protect these domestic actors without harming other sectors such as farmers and peasants.

Seeds – like many goods derived from information technologies and cultural property - can be reproduced, copied and multiplied without difficulty and at low cost. In those industries they are constantly creating and recreating new ways of capturing income for innovators that do not impede the free movement of knowledge. A number of global initiatives have emulated these models by promoting the use of intellectual property tools for seeds that allow innovators to appropriate the income of innovation but that do not restrict the free flow of materials and knowledge.

One example of these alternatives is open source seeds.

We think it is necessary to discuss these alternatives in an open and wide-ranging debate.

Newspaper Página 12 / Supplement Cash

Due to disputes with the government over the system for obtaining royalties on seeds, Monsanto is threatening not to introduce its latest innovation in Argentina, or even to leave the country. Many think that this could be troubling because the company is associated with delivering improved agricultural productivity - although the quantity and quality of its contributions on this front remains unclear. Others consider that an exit by Monsanto could be a real blessing because they think the company is responsible for the dominant agricultural model. Nevertheless the problems generated by the incumbent agro-industrial model would not disappear because Monsanto´s place would be rapidly occupied by any of its competitors.

The enormous increase in soybean production is usually attributed to the company´s glyphosate resistant soybean seed but, although this innovation has facilitated management and reduced production costs, the productivity increase in soya is better explained by the multiple innovations created by domestic companies.

Many promises have been made about the possibility of developing “transgenic events”. Nevertheless, twenty years after the launch of this technology, the market has only received two innovations: herbicide tolerance und insects resistance. These innovations are only profitable if they can be applied in multiple contexts, but the agricultural sector needs technologies that are adapted to each region. This is only possible with a more decentralized innovation system.
Recently, the local press reported that the government has arrived at an agreement with Monsanto on its methods of collecting royalties. In the background is a fight over changes to our current seed law.

But the real battle is about which kind of innovation system for seed: one that is closed and based on private appropriation (a patent-like system) or one that is open and flexible with the possibility that multiple actors can participate.

Agencia TSS

Participación de Anabel Marín en una nota de la Agencia TSS, una publicación sobre tecnología y ciencia de la Universidad Nacional de San Martín, en la cual la especialista se refiere a la propuesta del equipo de Centis/Centro Steps América Latina, de pensar en alguna alternativa de código abierto para proteger las innovaciones en las semillas y garantizar un mayor acceso a ellas. 

Nexciencia

Participación de Anabel Marín en una nota de la Nexiencia, una publicación de divulgación científica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exáctas y Naturales de la Universidad de Buenos Aires, en la cual la especialista se refiere al conflicto sobre la propiedad intelectual en las semillas y el impacto que un sistema más restrictivo podría tener para la producción local.