UPOV 91 and trade agreements: Compromising farmers' right to save and sell seeds
The international Convention UPOV 91 is relatively unknown. But this treaty is quite problematic for smallholder farmers and agroecological approaches: by imposing intellectual property rights on seeds, it can restrict the farmers’ right to save and re-use seeds and undermine local seed systems. At the same time we note increased effort to include references to UPOV 91 in EU trade agreements, which would further aggravate the related problems. With this paper, we aim to facilitate an urgently needed debate on the relations between UPOV 91, national seed laws and trade agreements – and the potential implications on the livelihoods of subsistence farmers in the Global South.
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Cover photo: farmers in Iran (taken by Hamed Zolfaghari)
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Dossier /
Trade agreements
International trade agreements often have far-reaching consequences not only for the economy of a country, but also for people and the environment. It is primarily the most vulnerable groups who suffer most from these agreements.
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Publication / 29 november 2021
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Event / 6 december 2021, 14:00 - 15:15
WEBINAR: EU's push for strong Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) on seeds
The European Union's (EU) foreign trade policy has many implications for the sustainability of food systems in developing countries, heavily impacting farmers, breeders, and citizens. The unhidden promotion by the EU of strong intellectual property rights on plants affects food systems from its very basis, i.e., the seeds that are available for farmers to grow. Amongst these intellectual property rights, the main instrument that is advocated by European authorities is the 1991 Act of the UPOV Convention, which provides exclusive rights to breeders over the propagating material of new plant varieties, while diminishing the rights of others to use the material for further breeding and hampering with the rights of farmers to freely save, use, exchange and sell their seeds.
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Publication / 30 oktober 2023
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Publication / 12 november 2020
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Blog / 16 februari 2021
The Netherlands can contribute much to making agriculture sustainable – nationally and internationally
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News / 18 juni 2019
Open letter from more than 340 organisations: EU must stop negotiating treaty with South American countries.
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Blog / 14 april 2020
Stop WTO talks until everyone can take full part in them again
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Dossier /
Make Innovations work for all: reframing Intellectual Property Rights
It sounds so logical: patents and other intellectual property rights protect investments in innovations, allowing more innovations to be made from which the whole world can benefit. Such as new medicines or drought-resistant crops. But in practice, these property rights often have the opposite effect, hindering access to innovations for those who need them the most.
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Letter / 26 juni 2023
Letter to EU governments on the GSP reform
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News / 11 december 2015
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Publication / 12 april 2022
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News / 25 april 2022
Call for sign-on: No to UPOV in Indonesia
The European Union (EU) continues to demand that countries of the South introduce plant variety protection rights according to UPOV 91 in free trade agreements. This is happening in the ongoing negotiations of the EU with Indonesia, trying to take away Indonesia's flexibility to implement a law that suits its own needs and priorities. We therefore call to sign our letters on this subject to the European Commission and the Indonesian government.
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Press release / 30 juni 2022
Civil society calls upon EU and Indonesia to respect the rights of Indonesia’s farmers
89 NGOs and farmers' organisations from Indonesia, the EU and around the world sent open letters to the EU Commission and the Indonesian government today, calling on them to refrain from any clause that restrict farmers' rights in a future free trade agreement.
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Publication / 30 juni 2016
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Event / 24 mei 2023, 16:00 - 17:30
The Future We See: economic systems
What does an economy look like that serves the well-being of people and the planet?
A wide range of great ideas about a transition to sustainable and just economic systems already exist, including ways to get there and examples that show that it is really possible. In this talkshow, we highlight some of these examples and hope to fuel the dialogue about this topic.
Inspired? Join our 'The Future We See' - talkshow on May 25th! You can either attend live or online, quietly listen or actively participate in the discussion. We hope to see you there!
Get your free tickets for the liveshow (limited!) or to join online here!
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News / 28 oktober 2016
“The UN have to acknowledge ecocide as a crime”
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News / 18 april 2023
The Future We See - dialogues about sustainable and just global systems
In these uncertain times of accumulating national, international and global crises, we need hope and inspiration more than ever. Fortunately, many hopeful ideas and initiatives are already existing that show that it is indeed possible to change the world - and especially the systems behind it - in a sustainable and fair way. What opportunities are to be found, what is hopeful, what is already happening and how can we, as the Netherlands, respond to this?
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Event / 21 februari 2022, 16:00 - 17:30
Webinar and launch of new publication about EU-Mercosur
What is the EU-Mercosur association treaty and why is it controversial? What could be the implications of the treaty for people and their livelihoods both in EU and Mercosur countries? For more information about these and other issues, see our new publication and join our interactive webinar next week!
Register here
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Press release / 29 juni 2020
Press release – Call by 265 organisations to the EU: “Do not sign the EU-Mercosur trade agreement”
Germany must use its influence as president of the EU in the second half of this year to ensure that the controversial EU-Mercosur free trade agreement is not signed. This is the message in a letter presented to German chancellor Angela Merkel today by 265 civil society and environmental organisations from the EU and Mercosur countries. The deal between the EU and Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay will stimulate destruction of the natural environment and the violation of human rights in vulnerable areas in South America. The agreement will also give European farmers an unfair competitive advantage. Dutch signatories to the letter include Greenpeace and Both ENDS and various organisations united in the Handel Anders! coalition.