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

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) promotes intellectual property rights
claimed by plant breeders in laboratories, while minimising provisions for
farmers. In contrast, The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources
for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) is an international law that binds
contracting parties to recognize the contribution made by indigenous
communities and farmers for the development of plant genetic resources.
Article 9.2 of the ITPGRFA affirms that farmers have the right to:
- protect traditional knowledge relevant to plant genetic resources
- participate in sharing benefits arising from the utilization of plant
resources
- participate in making decisions related to the sustainable use of plant
genetic resources for food and agriculture.
Predating the ITPGRFA, the African Union Model Law for the Protection of
the Rights of Local Communities, Farmers and Breeders, and for the
Regulation of Access to Biological Resources offers a legislative framework
for implementing farmers' rights. The AU Model Law can be used as a suigeneris
alternative within the WTO or the Convention on Biological
Diversity (CBD).
A major discussion in the process of domesticating farmers' rights will be
determining the relationship between individual rights of private property
and social rights of farmers. The WTO gives no recognition to social rights,
only to private property rights, while the CBD, the ITPGRFA and the AU
Model Legislation all recognise the rights of groups (farmers and
communities) as equal to those of individuals (persons and corporations).
Those promoting GM seeds under the guise of a ‘green revolution for
Africa’ would not countenance farmers' rights, and therefore, they violate
the priority of the very farmers they insist they are aiding.
The AU model legislation also directly addresses the issue of biopiracy,
such as the Tuli cattle case, by adopting the CBD principle of prior
informed consent (PIC). The AU implementation of PIC requires that both
the national government and the local community give consent before
genetic material can be taken. For the Tuli cattle, the local communities
were not consulted. Further, the AU implementation would require that
benefit-sharing of any profits be returned to the community, a reciprocity
not honoured by the Australian or North American cattle industry.
Africans are showing the way to turning international principles into
practical policies that benefit smallholder farmers. The unity parliament of
Zimbabwe was the first one to pass legislation (2010) implementing the AU
model by outlawing biopiracy and honouring community rights over genetic
resources.
AFRICAN BIODIVERSITY STEWARDSHIP RECOGNITION AWARD (ABSRA)
The promise and power of Africa's biodiversity wealth are the keys to
unlocking African food security and food sovereignty. There are ample
indications that little-known local plants of Africa may have outstanding
genetic compositions that would help in solving Africa's food challenges, as
well as global agricultural problems.
One incentive for enhancing the efforts of promoting indigenous knowledge
is to recognise those who have already contributed, and to prepare space
for those who will play their role in the future. Such an approach will
facilitate the inter-generational transfer of technologies and capacities
required to innovatively manage Africa's genetic resource base.