Plant Genetic Diversity in Agriculture and Farmers’ Rights in Norway

FNI Report 17/2012 Plant genetic diversity in agriculture and farmers’ rights in Norway Regine Andersen Plant genetic diversity in agriculture and farmers’ rights in Norway Regine Andersen [email protected] October 2012 Copyright © Fridtjof Nansen Institute 2012 Title Plant Genetic Diversity in Agriculture and Farmers’ Rights in Norway Translated from the Norwegian ‘Plantemangfold i jordbruket og bønders rettigheter i Norge’, FNI Report 11/2011 (Lysaker: Fridtjof Nansen Institute) Publication Type and Number Pages FNI-rapport 17/2012 119 Author ISBN Regine Andersen 978-82-7613-659-3 ISSN 1893-5486 Abstract This report takes the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture as a point of departure and analyses achievements, gaps and needs with regard to its implementation in Norway, with focus on its provisions on farmers’ rights. Although much crop genetic diversity has been lost in Norway, substantial efforts are being made to save what is left, and to ensure farmers’ rights. Regulations on plant varieties and seed marketing represent some of the barriers, but much depends on how they will be implemented in the time to come. Traditional knowledge is disappearing, despite efforts to stop this. A consolidated strategy is lacking. Economic incentive structures are not yet in place, except for some ‘seed money’, so most of the work is based on pure idealism. Farmers involved in crop genetic diversity could participate more actively in decision making if they were better organized. The system of public consultation is seriously challenged by Norway’s EEA membership, due to the high ‘turnover’ of decisions requiring implementation at the national level, lack of transparency, and because Norwegian opinions on decisions from the EU carry so little weight. To achieve a say in these matters, it would probably be more useful to work together with other European organizations involved in this issue-area. Nevertheless, much has happened in recent years to facilitate the realization of farmers’ rights and enhance the pool of crop genetic resources available to farmers. Key Words International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, biodiversity, farmers, farmers’ rights, breeders’ rights, traditional knowledge, benefit sharing, access to genetic resources, plant genetic resources, Norway, FAO ‘We aim to be the best in the world when it comes to taking care of genetic resources’ Norwegian Minister of Agriculture and Food, 1 Lars Peder Brekk, 2011 1 At the “Great Apple Hunt’ (‘Den Store Eplejakten’), an event arranged by the Norwegian Genetic Resource Centre. Press release from the Centre dated 6 September 2011, at: http://www.skogoglandskap.no/nyheter/2011/brekkseplejakt Contents Foreword 1 Introduction 1 1.1 Why plant genetic diversity and farmers’ rights? 1 1.2 The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture and farmers’ rights 2 1.3 ... but does this concern us here in Norway? 5 1.4 Methodology and structure 7 2 Background on agriculture and crop genetic diversity in Norway 8 2.1 Basic facts on agriculture in Norway 8 2.2 Structural changes and crop genetic diversity 9 2.3 Status of crop genetic diversity in Norway 10 2.3.1 Crop genetic diversity in cereals, potatoes and vegetables 10 2.3.2 Crop genetic diversity in fruits and berries 13 2.3.3 Crop genetic diversity in meadow plants 14 2.3.4 The informal seed sector 18 2.3.5 Challenges to research and breeding 20 2.4 Access to seed material 21 2.5 Plant breeding and the value chain for seed material 24 3 Farmers’ rights in Norway: Basic considerations 28 3.1 Norwegian views and work at the international level 28 3.2 Farmers’ views on farmers’ rights in Norway 29 3.3 Other views on farmers’ rights in Norway 32 3.4 What is covered by farmers’ rights in Norway? 32 4 The right to save, use, exchange and sell seed 33 4.1 Plant breeders’ rights and farmers’ rights 33 4.1.1 Norway and the Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) 34 4.1.2 Proposal to strengthen plant breeders’ rights 35 4.1.3 Draft law rejected with reference to farmers’ rights 35 4.2 Regulations on plant variety release and the marketing of seed and seed potatoes 36 4.2.1Prohibition years 2004–2010: Ban on private seed exchange/sales 37 4.2.2Background to the prohibitions 38 4.2.3 Reactions in Norway. EU Commission Directive 2008/62/EC on conservation varieties 39 Regine Andersen 4.2.4 Disagreement over Commission Directive 2008/62/E: Winds of change 41 4.2.5 Proposal by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority for relaxation of three central regulations 43 4.2.6 More EU seed directives: Vegetables and fodder-plant mixtures 45 4.2.7 Current rules and practice to date 48 4.2.8 Impact of the regulations on genetic diversity in varieties and on farmers’ rights 50 4.3 Norwegian patent legislation 51 4.4 Experiences and reflections on farmers’ rights to save, use, exchange and sell seeds 53 4.4.1 Conventional farmers 53 4.4.2 Biodiversity farmers 54 4.4.3 Plant breeders 56 4.4.4 Authorized seed shops 57 4.4.5 Common stand 58 4.5 Preliminary conclusions on farmers’ rights to save, use, exchange and sell seeds 59 5. Rights linked to relevant traditional knowledge 61 5.1 Farmers’ traditional knowledge of genetic resources in Norway 62 5.2 Measures to document and spread traditional knowledge 64 5.3 Relevant regulations on traditional knowledge 68 5.4 Farmers’ reflections on traditional knowledge 71 5.5 Preliminary conclusions on traditional knowledge 73 6 Benefit-sharing and the use of genetic resources 75 6.1 Incentive structures and support for conservation work 76 6.2 Farmers’ access to crop genetic diversity, and conservation measures 81 6.3 Information, capacity-building and technology transfer 84 6.4 Norway and benefit-sharing with the South 87 6.5 Farmers’ reflections on the right to benefit-sharing 90 6.6 Conclusions on farmers’ rights to benefit-sharing 92 7 The right to participation in decision-making processes 94 7.1 Organizations representing farmers in Norway 96 7.2 Legislation on farmers’ participation in decision-making processes 99 7.3 Farmers’ participation in relevant decision-making processes 99 Evaluering av miljøvernsamarbeidet mellom Norge og Russland 7.4 Farmers’ reflections on participation in decision-making processes 102 7.5 Preliminary conclusions on farmers’ rights to participation in decision-making processes 103 8 Summary, conclusions and recommendations 105 Status of crop genetic diversity and seed/propagation materials for farmers 105 Why farmers’ rights are important, and what they entail 106 The right to save, use, exchange and sell seeds 106 Recommendations 108 Rights related to relevant traditional knowledge 108 Recommendations 109 The right to share benefits accruing from the use of genetic resources 110 Recommendations 111 The right to participate in decision-making processes 112 Recommendations 113 References 114 Annex: Interviews and meetings 117 Foreword Plant genetic diversity for food and agriculture represents a vast reservoir of fascinating tastes, smells, colours, nutrients, stories and possibilities. It constitutes the genetic basis for all food production, and is of decisive importance for our chances to adapt agriculture to changing environ- mental conditions, such as climate change. Maintaining and developing crop genetic diversity can be seen as a life assurance policy for future generations, while also giving us possibilities today for dealing with shifting nutritional needs and the demand for more environmentally friendly agricultural production. The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (the Plant Treaty) is aimed at the conservation and sustainable use of crop genetic resources, and that the benefits accruing from their use are shared in a fair and equitable manner. The challenges are considerable in a world that has lost much of its crop genetic diversity in the course of the past hundred years, and which has still not managed to reverse this negative trend. An important aspect here is to enable farmers to carry on their work of conserving, cultivating and further developing crop genetic diversity – practices that over the past 10,000 years have provided the rich diversity the world has today. To that end, the Plant Treaty has specific provisions concerning farmers’ rights. In 2005, the Fridtjof Nansen Institute established a long-term project to support the implementation of farmers’ rights, as they are provided for in the Plant Treaty through research-based guidance. We have facilitated several international consultations, conducted in-depth analyses of national implementation in selected countries, collected success stories, established an international network, held seminars and lectures, and published the results at our website www.farmersrights.org. As part of the FNI Farmers’ Rights Project, this report aims to offer an overview on the management of agricultural plant genetic diversity in Norway, taking farmers’ rights as its point of departure, and identifying what can be done to better ensure the implementation of the Plant Treaty in this area. This report has been five years in the making. Farmers’ rights proved to be undergoing rapid change, and so our work became an ongoing research endeavour of monitoring developments and documenting the processes in Norway. Thereby the process of developing this report also influenced, to a certain extent, the political decision making documented here. Such influence is always a challenge in social science, and is mentioned specifically in this report where relevant. The report is the product of a highly participatory process. In addition to document analyses, participation at meetings, seminars and consultations with stakeholders, as well as interviews with farmers, representatives of farmers’ organizations, the seed industry and the relevant authorities have also been central.

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