Winnipeg, Canada (Rural Advancement Foundation International, February
18,
1999) - The following document was released by the Rural Advancement
Foundation
International on 17 February 1999: Fifteen Francophone African states,
among
them some of the poorest countries in the world, are under pressure to
sign
away the right of more than 20 million small-holder farmers to save and
exchange crop seed.
The decision to abandon Africa's 12,000-year tradition of seed
saving will
be finalized at a meeting February 22-25 in the Central African
Republic. The
15 governments have been told to adopt draconian intellectual property
legislation for plant varieties in order to conform to a provision in
the World
Trade Organization (WTO) that obliges signatories to "protect" plant
varieties.
The legislation (a kind of legal "Terminator" because it prohibits
farmers from
replanting "protected" seed) is also known, euphemistically, as "Plant
Breeders' Rights". If adopted, the legislation will throw some of
Africa's
poorest countries into an intellectual property cartel dominated by a
handful
of OECD states led by the USA, the UK, and Japan.
During meetings in East Africa a few days ago, RAFI's Pat Mooney and
Hope
Shand learned that OAPI (l'Organisation Africaine de la Propriete
Intellectuelle/African Intellectual Property Organization) has agreed
to adopt
"UPOV 91" - the world's most restrictive form of Plant Breeders'
Rights. The
Convention is managed by the Union for the Protection of New Varieties
of
Plants (UPOV) - a subsidiary treaty of the Geneva-based World
Intellectual
Property Organization (WIPO).
"Francophone African countries are being bullied into adopting
UPOV'91",
says Pat Mooney, "even though the WTO is about to conduct a review of
its plant
variety 'protection' clause." Adds Hope Shand, "The review is not
expected to
be completed before 2001. Many analysts predict that a whole new trade
negotiating round may be launched before the review is completed."
"African patent offices are being asked to climb on a wagon other
countries
in other regions may never accept," agrees Pat Mooney, "Conceivably, a
new
trade round could render compliance unnecessary. Since six of the 15
OAPI
states are "least developed countries" (according to UNDP definitions),
regardless of the review or a new negotiating round, they have until at
least
2006 before they have to introduce any kind of legislation. "
"In a worst case scenario," Hope Shand concludes, "OAPI members
would still
have the option to accept legislation that would allow farmers to save,
re-use,
and even sell purchased seed. Where is the pressure coming from and why
are
sovereign countries selling off the historic rights of their farmers?"
Urgent Action: RAFI is writing to each of the 15 OAPI countries,
contacting
both Ministers of Agriculture and Ministers responsible for patent
offices.
"Depending on the country," Pat Mooney notes, "between one-fifth and
one-half
of all the farmers are small-holders who depend heavily on their
ability to
save seed in order to keep production reliable and costs low. There are
at
least 20 million such farmers in OAPI states," Mooney says, "Next
week's
decision could be a major blow to the region's food security. We
suspect that
most Agriculture Ministers don't even know what their patent offices
are
proposing to do."
What is OAPI?
The precursor to OAPI was established on September 13, 1962, by 12
francophone African heads of state. It was called the "Office Africain
et
Malgache de la Propriete Industrielle (OAMPI). The agreement
establishing OAMPI
was revised in Bangui, Central African Republic on March 27, 1977, and
gave
birth to OAPI, the "Organisation Africaine de la Propriete
Intellectuelle". It
has 15 members: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Central African
Republic, Chad,
Congo, Djibouti, Gabon, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Niger, Mali, Mauritania,
Senegal,
Togo. Of these, the following are considered least developed countries
by UNDP:
Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Guinea, Mali, Mauritania, and
Togo.
What is UPOV 91?
The original international Plant Breeders' Rights convention was
adopted in
Paris in 1961. Since then, the Convention has been amended several
times and
two forms of PBR are now in common use. Most UPOV members, in fact,
adhere to
its 1978 convention, which is widely interpreted by governments to
allow
farmers to save and exchange seed. UPOV's 1991 convention, however,
assumes
that farmers cannot save seed unless governments permit specific
exceptions.
Around the world, 1.4 billion people depend on the ability of
small-holder
farmers to save seed for their family food security. To date, the only
UPOV
members to confirm the 1991 convention are Bulgaria, Denmark, Germany,
Israel,
Japan, Netherlands, Moldova, Russia, Sweden, UK, and USA. If OAPI bows
to WTO
and UPOV pressure during the meeting February 22-25, the 15 francophone
African
States will more than double the Convention's roster of members.
RAFI (Rural Advancement Foundation International), www.rafi.org 5/8
rafirafi.org
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