What is the open-source seeds movement?

Source: The post is based on the article “What is the open-source seeds movement?” published in The Hindu on 6th April 2023

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Farmers have innovated and shared seeds without any intellectual property rights (IPR) for centuries. They also haven’t sought exclusive rights over seeds and germplasm to prevent others from innovating on the seeds. 

However, with the emergence of the global IPR regime over plant varieties, there is a dire need to ‘open-source’ seeds.

How is intellectual property (IP) protected in agriculture?

There are two major modes of IPR protection in agriculture — plant-breeders’ rights and patents. 

In this regime, rights-holders could demand royalty on seeds and legally enforce IPR. In some national IPR regimes, rights-holders can also restrict the unauthorised use of seeds to develop new varieties. 

Together, they restrict farmers’ rights and the freedom to develop new varieties using germplasm from IP-protected varieties.

They have consolidated the seed sector by increasing the number of plant varieties covered by IP Rights (IPRs).

How has the IP regime evolved in the agriculture sector?

The Green Revolution was spearheaded by public-sector breeding institutions and seeds were available as reasonably priced hybrids with no restrictions on farmers to cultivate, reuse and share.

But the private sector led the genetic revolution in agriculture, with seeds mostly made available as hybrids/protected by strong IPRs.

The WTO’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) requires member states to provide protection for plant varieties either by patents/by an effective standalone system.

What was the impact of the IP regime in agriculture?

The high prices of genetically modified seeds and IP claims triggered many problems and issues, including the State’s intervention in Bt cotton seeds in India. 

As public sector breeding declined and the private sector began to dominate the seed sector, the need for alternatives became keenly felt. This is when the success of open-source software inspired a solution. 

What are Open Source Seeds?

Open Source Seeds concept aims to maintain open access to global plant genetic resources ensuring its accessibility to all farmers, plant breeders and communities for this generation and all to come.

It affirms that plant genetics and their physical traits can not, and should not, be owned by individuals or corporations. In other words, plants should never be privatized or restricted because they are a collective resource.

In India, the Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA), Hyderabad, developed an open-source model that included an agreement between CSA and the recipient of the seed/germplasm.

What are the potential applications of the open-source approach?

Firstly, it can be used in farmer-led seed conservation and distribution systems. There are many traditional-variety conservation and sharing initiatives in India involving farmers. 

Secondly, it can also be used to promote farmer-led participatory plant-breeding exercises. Traditional varieties often lack uniformity and aren’t of excellent quality for seed development and breeding purposes. Open-source principles can help overcome these two challenges by facilitating testing, improvisation and adoption.