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26.04.2015 Feature Article

Why Ghana must adopt the Plant Breeders’ Rights System

Why Ghana must adopt the Plant Breeders Rights System
26.04.2015 LISTEN

It is general knowledge that public investment in the development of genetically improved varieties can increase agricultural productivity and continues to be a prerequisite for helping lift millions out of poverty and banishing hunger and malnourishment. Unfortunately, however, public investments in agricultural research, have not kept pace with these acknowledged needs, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa including Ghana. A recent study revealed that as high as 90% of funding for crop development and improvement activities in Ghana are funded by Donors. Is our food security rather not threatened under this current system? What happens if Donors under some circumstances reduce or stop funding for such purposes?

To address this possible future occurrence, food security programs, as pursued by most developed economies, increasingly depends upon research and product development by the private sector. Ironically, the private sector’s efforts to develop new varieties are heavily influenced by effective intellectual property regimes, which determine the levels of risk they have to take and thus the kinds of research that can be profitably pursued. Thus, increase funding and investment by private sector needs a legal framework that guarantees their investment. One such legal framework is the Plant Variety Protection System/Plant Breeders’ Rights system (PVP/PBRs). Intellectual Property regimes provide incentives to invest in research and development, particularly in plant breeding and crop improvement. There are several empirical evidences to demonstrate the benefits of PBRs on food security.

Strong Intellectual Property Rights’ (IPRs) play a significant role in attracting investment in agriculture, and enhance market growth, access and diversification as they provide incentive to breeders by assuring them that their expenditure can be recouped. Further, their innovations or creativity will be protected and rewarded. Adequate plant variety protection encourages investment in the plant breeding sector and opens a country’s door to overseas varieties where the protection of law is guaranteed. These overseas varieties can be exploited by local Plant Breeders to develop locally adaptable varieties while maintaining the good traits of that variety by taking advantage of the Breeders’ exemption enshrined in the PBRs Act, 2013 of Ghana. With these provisions, the benefits of plant variety protection therefore extend to farmers, producers and to the national economy. Eventually, developing countries' dependence on foreign technology suppliers, especially improved foreign varieties of crops, which often are not locally adaptable, is reduced. It is further recognized that an effective PVP system can also provide important benefits in an international context by removing barriers to trade in varieties, thereby increasing domestic and international market scope. Domestic growers and producers will have more opportunities to improve their production and to export their products.

Apart from the numerous benefits major stakeholders in the agriculture sector and the economy of Ghana as a whole stand to gain, Ghana must without delay adopt this system because of recent actions taken by our francophone neighbours. African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI), which constitutes about 17 countries mostly French-speaking have adopted the UPOV system of plant variety protection; same as Ghana seeks to adopt. The immediate negative implication if Ghana delays its adoption and implementation is that, farmers who leave along the borders of Ghana may exchange seeds of crop varieties developed and released by Plant Breeders of Ghana with farmers in these neighbouring countries, who can freely exploit these materials while the reverse will not be legal under the PBRs arrangement. In fact, farmers in these countries can obtain freely through exchange or purchase of seeds of newly developed crop varieties in Ghana, reproduce and sell for profit without the Plant Breeder in Ghana benefiting from such sale. Ghana must not delay in adopting and implementing the Plant Breeders Rights system of plant variety protection.

By:
Hillary Mireku Bortey
MIP-Student/Research Scientist
Email: [email protected]

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