Program management empower your most valuable for plant. Consult table 1 of the plant breeders rights act, 1976 act 15 of 1976 to establish whether the kind of plant is declared if the kind of plant is not in the table, submit a request for declaration with a motivation in writing to the registrar for plant breeders. Passed by parliament and assented to by the president. Mar 30, 2016 food sovereignty ghana fsg, has called on the speaker of parliament to order the publication of a report on the consultations that the selectcommittee on constitutional, legal, and parliamentary affairs undertook on the plant breeders bill pbb. Oct 20, 2014 this week, farmers in ghana are on the frontlines of a battle. Plant breeders rights became an accepted branch of intellectual property with the adoption of the international convention for the protection of new varieties of plants upov in 1961. This bill is designed to protect plant breeders patent right and financial interests in the crop varieties they design, which includes gmos. Registrar and register of plant breeders rights designation and functions of registrar 2. Joining upov under upov 91 narrows the possibilities for states to. Genetic material variety release manual, which sets out protocols for the dus and vcu. Although developing countries are under no compulsion to model their sui generic systems on upov, it is the only international model available on plant breeders. As a dramatic shift from the 1978 convention which barred plant varieties from being patented, the 1991 convention facilitated a combination of plant breeders rights and patents.
The title of their petition declared, ghana s plant breeders bill lacks legitimacy. Countries joining upov 1991 have very little room to manoeuver. May 04, 2016 the peasant farmers association of ghana pfag, has called on government and parliament to halt the passage of the plant breeders bill pbb and to ensure further consultations with farmers. This week, farmers in ghana are on the frontlines of a battle. A read is counted each time someone views a publication summary such as the title, abstract, and list of authors, clicks on a figure, or views or downloads the fulltext. The african journal of international and comparative law restarted publication with eup in 2005, with the approval of the african society of international and comparative law.
The ecological diversity, and hence the source of medicinal plants, is. Manual content analysis involves scrutinising all material text. Prospective analysis find, read and cite all the research you. In 20, ghana drafted the plant breeders act, a sui generis system. Paragraph 2 of part i of schedule 2 to the plant varieties and seeds act 1964 enables an application for a grant of plant breeders rights, made in a country to which that paragraph applies, to be treated as if. Medicinal plants in ghana medicinal plants climate. Plant breeders bill must be revised csos tell parliament. Jun 03, 2017 as to the plant breeders rights bill, if farmers recycle and share popular openpollinated varieties opvs that are protected in the law, they are liable to prosecution, unless they are producing for private and noncommercial purposes only, i. Mpanju2 1csircrops research institute, box 3785, kumasi, ghana 2african regional intellectual property organization aripo, harare, zimbabwe received 26 august 2015. Food sovereignty ghana fsg, has called on the speaker of parliament to order the publication of a report on the consultations that the selectcommittee on constitutional, legal, and. Many countries have introduced, or are introducing, plant breeders rights legislation in response to their obligations in terms of the trips agreement. The eminent editorial board continues as previously, with members from international institutions in geneva and from universities in africa, the uk and the us. He is an author or coauthor of more than 100 journal articles, twenty. Preliminary comments on plant improvement bill b 8b 2015.
Plant breeders rights bill b11d2015 south african government. This includes the latest concepts in plant breeding, quantitative genetics, statistics and experimental design. This name change was agreed to by consultation within the acb, to reflect the expanded scope of our work over the past few years. Manual content analysis involves scrutinising all material text containing. As to the plant breeders rights bill, if farmers recycle and share popular openpollinated varieties opvs that are protected in the law, they are liable to prosecution, unless they are producing. Farmers organizations, plant breeding and seed industry. Oct 25, 20 the purpose of this bill is to establish a legal framework to protect the rights of breeders of new varieties of plants or plant groupings and to promote the breeding of new varieties of plants aimed at improving the quantity, quality and cost of food, fuel, fibre and raw materials for industry. To stake or not to stake a plant breeding perspective otoo e.
Food sovereignty ghana fsg has met with the parliamentary committee on constitutional, legal and parliamentary affairs over the plant breeders bill. National campaign against upov plant breeders bill food. Ayenan and others published implications of plant breeder bill on breeding activities in ghana. Parliament calls for reintroduction of plant breeders bill. The national parliament is due to return from its summer break and first thing on the agenda is the governments plant breeders. Activist groups including food sovereignty ghana, the coalition for farmers rights, advocacy against gmos, ghana catholic bishops conference, convention peoples party, and various individuals have argued against its introduction.
Although ghanas plants and fertilizers act of 2010 allows plant breeding and varietal. Mar 23, 2015 the role of plant variety protection is to improve varieties of plants, which are drought resistant. Application for protection of new plant variety in china and their determints. Preliminary comments on plant improvement bill b 8b 2015 january 2017 on 7 april 2015 the african centre for biosafety officially changed its name to the african centre for biodiversity acb. We are left with the distinct impression that parliament is keen on. Anyone using the patented seeds would be required to obtain authorization from the breeder in order to produce, sell, or stock the seeds for the purpose of sale. The national parliament is due to return from its summer break and first thing on the agenda is the governments plant breeders bill. Battling the monsanto law in ghana new internationalist.
We find the inclusion of the plant breeders bill in these series a. Members were provided with insight into the purpose and objectives of the bills as well as detail on the processes involved in the development of the bills. Perceived implication for food, seed security and sovereignty in ghana h. It is variously considered a subspecies of the wild boar or a distinct species. Plant breeders rights pbr, also known as plant variety rights pvr, are rights granted to the breeder of a new variety of plant that give the breeder exclusive control over the propagating material including. Impact of plant breeders rights on technology availability in. The goal of the african plant breeding academy is to train practicing african plant breeders in the most advanced theory and technologies for plant breeding in support of critical decisions for crop. Parliament distorts opposition to plant breeders bill. Food sovereignty ghana calls on parliament to completely withdraw the. Publish report on consultations over plant breeder s bill. Apr, 2020 ghana s closed forests contain over 2100 plant species, most of the 818 tree species which have been identified in ghana, and certain endangered and endemic species 19 species and two subspecies. There has been controversy with their use their since then. Plant breeders rights pbr, also known as plant variety rights pvr, are rights granted to the breeder of a new variety of plant that give the breeder exclusive control over the propagating material including seed, cuttings, divisions, tissue culture and harvested material cut flowers, fruit, foliage of a new variety for a number of years. Another area that has been under significant discussion is plant breeders rights protection, or plant variety p pvp.
Food sovereignty ghana fsg is deeply concerned about utterances from the chairman of the appointments committee, and fi rst deputy speaker of parliament, hon. Controversy over plant breeders rights bill in ghana continues. Apply for plant breeders rights south african government. The ghanaian plant breeders rights bill is likely to be one of the more controversial matters on the ghanaian parliament agenda in october.
Ghana has opted to apply the requirement for compliance with the international convention for the protection of new varieties of plants of december 2, 1961 and. Consult table 1 of the plant breeders rights act, 1976 act 15 of 1976 to establish whether the kind of plant is declared if the kind of plant is not in the table, submit a request for declaration with a motivation in writing to the registrar for plant breeders rights. Jul 10, 2014 the plant breeders bill is designed to impose genetically modified organisms into ghana s food chain, a move that could change our entire agricultural system. Pigs are often called swine, hog, or pig when there is no need to distinguish it from other pigs. Anyone using the patented seeds would be required to obtain. There are three principal types of vegetation from south to north occurring in the coastal savanna, in the forest zone, and in the northern savanna zone. As a plant breeder he led improvement programs for cowpea, common bean, tomato, stone fruits and tree fruit rootstocks. A national seed policy was also developed which led to the liberalization of the seed sector and the coming on board of more.
Pdf implications of plant breeder bill on breeding. Implications of plant breeder bill on breeding activities in ghana. Parliament has brought this bill to the consideration stage without any public participation or awareness. Replace plant breeders bill with a sui generis pvp system. Genetically modified food were introduced to ghana by the ghanaian government in 20. The plant breeders bill, among other things, is to ensure a genetic diversity of food crops but has faced strong resistance from farmer groups, the. Covering the objectives, scope, protection requirements, and examination provisions, the chapter compares the plant breeders rights system with the patent system and attempts to clarify specific puzzling issues.
The purpose of this bill is to establish a legal framework to protect the rights of breeders of new varieties of plants or plant groupings and to promote the breeding of new varieties of plants. Gates foundationflickr according to gervais nkuriza ngerero, directorgeneral of the seed department at rab, the bill is expected to protect plant varieties developed by rwandan researchers. The queenmothers association in the brong ahafo has appealed against the passage of the plant breeders bill and the promotion of genetically modified organisms gmo in the country. The southern african plant breeders association, which was an association of all private plant breeders in south africa, and which met at regular intervals to share information regarding progress with. Box 3785, kumasi, ghana 2crops research institute, p.
Introduction africas plant breeders rights pbrs landscape currently consists of a few scattered national systems across the continent,1 and two regional regimes one. April 27, 2016 by admin food sovereignty ghana calls on parliament to completely withdraw the upovcompliant plant breeders bill and replace it with a sui generis plant variety protection pvp system suitable to our conditions. Ghanaian queen mothers slums plant breeders bill news ghana. Gates foundationflickr according to gervais nkuriza ngerero, director. The word disconnect see caption image above may be the title of the latest kenyan blockbuster film but it also embodies the current raging debate over proposed changes to the anti. The proposed legislation contains rules that would restrict farmers from an ageold practice. Ghanas closed forests contain over 2100 plant species, most of the 818 tree species which have been identified in ghana, and certain endangered and endemic species 19 species and. The role of plant variety protection is to improve varieties of plants, which are drought resistant. We are in full agreement with this request, and pray on you to heed the call. The plant breeders bill is designed to impose genetically modified organisms into ghanas food chain, a move that could change our entire agricultural system. Farmers organizations, plant breeding and seed industry in. A guide for horticulture industries revised april 2008 2 grant of plant breeder s rights pbr for a plant variety to be protected by pbr, applicants must go through an.
African journal of international and comparative law. Uc davis, bowley center program management for plant breeders b instructors fred bliss is a professor emeritus of the department of plant sciences at uc davis. The committee was briefed by the department of agriculture, forestry and fisheries on the plant improvement bill and the plant breeders rights bill. Joseph oseiowusu, when the issue of the plant breeders bill was raised during the vetting of hon. Food sovereignty demands parliaments report on plant. Our services in relation to plant breeders rights throughout africa include. Paragraph 2 of part i of schedule 2 to the plant varieties and seeds act 1964 enables an application for a grant of plant breeders rights, made in a country to which that paragraph applies, to be treated as if made in the united kingdom and the isle of man for the purpose of establishing priority between applicants for rights in a variety.
An act to provide for the grant and protection of plant breeder rights and for related matters. Asante pointing to flaws in the plant breeders bill special report 31 august 2014. Plant species and varieties west africa seed catalog. The peasant farmers association of ghana pfag, has called on government and parliament to halt the passage of the plant breeders bill pbb and to ensure further consultations with. Iowa state university agronomists to help develop new. Replace plant breeders bill with a sui generis pvp. The plant breeders rights applications in designated. Peasant farmers kick against plant breeders bill ghana. Chapter 1 the origins of plant variety protection and upov. Plant breeders rights office will be closed until further notice, but applications can still be submitted read more. The goal of the african plant breeding academy is to train practicing african plant breeders in the most advanced theory and technologies for plant breeding in support of critical decisions for crop improvement. How to start a pig farm in ghana 1 of 3 ghanaculturepolitics.
Food sovereignty ghana charges house speaker ghnewsnow on audio fsg interview with radio xyz on the need for further consultations on the plant breeders bill. In the face of widespread criticism from intellectual property ip experts, aca has defended its proposed amendments to the anticounterfeit act which, if enacted, would effectively introduce a system for mandatory recordation of trade marks, and plant breeders rights to be administered by aca. New bill to protect plant breeding in rwanda african farming. Grassroots antigmo movements in ghana, including the group food sovereignty ghana fsg, are vehemently protesting the plant breeders bill, a piece of legislation that if passed could make it very difficult for small farmers to retain control over their seeds. This chapter attempts to explain what plant breeders rights are by describing the organization and function of the plant breeders rights system. Clause 1 of the bill defines the scope of application of the bill. Plant breeders rights bill as introduced in the national assembly proposed section 76. Medicinal plants in ghana medicinal plants climate policy. Box 3785, kumasi, ghana 3department of crop science, university of uyo, uyo, nigeria abstract. This paper situates the plant breeders bill public debate in ghana within the. The plant breeders bill, which was put before parliament in 20, went through the first and second consideration stages but was put on hold at the third stage when a pressure group, food. Owusu afiriyie akoto as ministerdesignate for agriculture.
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