April 2011 - Centre for Civil Society - University of KwaZulu-Natal

Stories of stolen genetic treasures echo across the continent. Like
traditional story tellers, when a botanist or agronomist ends his or her
account of the latest theft, another joins in to give yet another account,
often in voices of anguish and despair. Here we offer a few details of just
one current case from Southern Africa.[8]
The State of the World's Animal Genetic Resources for Food and
Agriculture (FAO) warns that the world's livestock production has become
increasingly based on a limited number of breeds. Since 2001, an average
of one breed per month has become extinct.[9] Searching for a broader
genetic base by which to save a livestock industry therefore becomes an
impetus for biopiracy. Accessing the gene pool of other animals with
favourable characteristics is more crucial than respecting indigenous
knowledge or thousands of years of breeding. In addition, if the new breed
becomes marketable, the profits are not shared.
Evolving 7,000 years ago from the wild ox, the humpless African cattle
differ greatly from those brought to the continent from Asia about 3,000
years ago. Tolerating tropical diseases and surviving on much less water
than other breeds, Tuli cattle thrive on low-nutrient grasses; their name
derives from the Ndebele word utuli, meaning dust. Custodians of the
breed, the communities developed local knowledge and technologies for
improving the cattle within the prevailing environmental conditions and
social needs (for food and draught power).
In 1987, frozen embryos of Tuli cattle were shipped to Australian cattle
breeders. By the 1990s, the US Department of Agriculture found that Tuli
proved their merit in withstanding harsh environmental conditions. Today,
the North American Tuli Association promotes the breed as follows: ‘NATA
intends to expand their activities by spreading the benefits of the Tuli
cattle to many countries within the Western hemisphere….the Tuli breed
can provide the missing link to bridge the gap in cattle genetics, the gap
being adaptation to heat and nutritional stress combined with carcass
merit.’[10]
Neither the government of Zimbabwe nor the foreign cattle associations
consulted with the local communities or recognised their contribution in
any way. NATA has even usurped the name of ‘tuli.’
The current race by industrialised countries to access, research and isolate
traits required by the beef industry will soon lead to the patenting of all
useful genes of the Tuli cattle, without the involvement of the local
communities who nurtured the breed. While Tuli traits are hailed as
second to none in countries that abrogated international agreements to
access the genetic materials, the peoples who developed the breed in the
first place are forgotten.
While research points out that the juicy and tender beef traits of Tuli
cattle are transferable to other breeds, no one is willing to ensure the
reverse: ‘juicy and tender’ benefits to the custodians and original breeders
of Tuli cattle.
AFRICAN ALTERNATIVES WORKING ON THE GROUND
FARMERS' RIGHTS AND THE AFRICAN UNION MODEL LEGISLATION
The international principle of farmers' rights dates from the mid-1980s,
propelled by increasing demands for exclusive plant breeders' rights (PBRs)
by corporate agriculture. Farmers' rights enable farmers to develop and
utilise crop genetic diversity, and thereby, recognises their contributions
to the global pool of genetic resources.