Submit Article |Resources | Link to us | Sitemap | Search | Language
Back to Home
Home >> Biotechnology /Genomics and Intellectual Property >>Terminator and Traitor Technologies >> Hybrid Varieties Vs Terminator Technology and Iprs
Back to Home

Hybrid varieties vs terminator technology and IPRs

In order to get a fair return on their investment, individual seed companies developing new varieties have been interested in biological protection of their varieties to prevent re-use of seeds harvested by farmers.

In most developed countries, this was achieved through the grant of patents and plant breeders rights, which were revised in 1991 under the umbrella of UPOV to provide better control of the breeder/seed companies over the protected seed material.

In case of hybrid varieties (e.g. maize, sunflower, etc.), however, there is a built-in protection, which forces the farmers to purchase hybrid seeds every year, because the increased yield is exhibited only in the F1 seed that is sold to the farmers and the performance declines in F2 and subsequent generations.

This discourages the farmers to harvest and re-use the harvested seed of hybrid varieties for sowing the next crop. In several self-pollinated crops like wheat, rice, barley, beans, etc., on the other hand, the commercially grown cultivars are actually 'pure lines' so that the yield does not decline and harvested seed can be used for sowing the next crop.

For these pure lines, the patents/PBRs are available, but their implementation 'seems to be really difficult (if re-use of seed is not allowed), particularly in the developing world having millions of small resource-poor farmers.

In countries like USA also, private companies are having difficulties with the farmers, who are saving for replantation, the seeds from their own crops, raised from the seed purchased from these companies in view of these inherent difficulties in the implementation of patents/PBRs in these self-pollinated crops, the terminator technology was intended to be used.

 
 

 
Submit Article |Resources | Link to us | Sitemap | Search | Language
English|Français|Español|Deutsch|Italiano|Portugues|Japanese|Korean|Sim-Chinese| Language