l Changing the system from within: participatory plant breeding and ABS in China 85
ment between the PPB team, the breeding
institute and the seed company supplying
the commercial market enabled PPB farmers to supply Guinuo 2006 locally.
Lack of ABS legislation
The lack of legislation meant there was no
framework or mechanism for agreeing
ABS between breeders and farmers. There
was also a continued lack of awareness
among both farmers and policy makers
about the wider range of potential
commercial and public interest benefits of
both in situ conservation and fair and equitable use of local plant genetic resources.
Developing access and benefit-sharing
(ABS) contracts
Given the lack of ABS legislation in China,
the project team decided to formalise
agreement on access and benefit-sharing
among stakeholders through mutually
agreed contracts. During the drafting of the
ABS contracts from 2008 to 2010, the
team reflected on how to protect the public
value of crop genetic resources, considering
farmers’
contribution
to
agrobiodiversity enhancement and to
maintaining the genetic base for hybrid
breeding. The team also considered how to
recognise farmers’ rights to benefit-sharing, individually or collectively. During
initiating ABS contracts, both breeders and
farmers were interviewed by policy
researchers, and later on they were brought
together for further discussion and negotiation, based on their current conflicting
interest, and the potential benefit from
PPB collaboration.
In June 2010, the PPB programme’s
ABS agreement was signed among farmers and GMRI breeders. The contracting
process was facilitated and witnessed by
CCAP researchers. The agreement recognises the contribution of both PPB farmers
and their genetic resources during the
breeding process, and regulates how benefits are shared. This includes e.g. the right
to register new varieties, sharing ownership
(via registration of joint plant breeders’
rights (PBRs) 4) and royalties, subsidy
payments to farmers for landrace conservation and to cover any risks associated
with breeding experiments, such as harvest
loss due to severe weather conditions.
Whilst the ABS contract sets up an initial
agreement for benefit-sharing between
breeding institutes and farmers, its effective implementation will depend on
continuing to develop mutual understanding and collaboration between the parties.
What has the programme achieved?
The PPB process has created a platform
for mutual understanding, knowledge
creation and social learning between farmers and formal breeders and researchers on
the project team. Breeders and farmers
were able to learn from each others’ experiences, ideas and values, creating a new
understanding between these previously
distant actors. Although they are from
different backgrounds and may not share
the same values and aspirations, farmers
and breeders are linked by a common goal
of developing improved varieties. By
engaging stakeholders in practical action,
PPB provides a way of actively involving
stakeholders in searching for a solution to
a problem, and this can change their
perspectives. This has led to a recognition
of the important role of farmers in plant
breeding and conservation, and the need
to acknowledge the rights of farmers over
PPB varieties and landraces, which is vital
for creating incentives for farmers to
4 PBRs are an internationally recognised instrument for registering the contribution of plant
breeders to the development or improvement of seeds that are subsequently commercialised.
A PBR confers the right to receive a proportion of the commercial profit. According to the PVP
law (1997), Article 2, item 7 (www.caas.net.cn/caasnew/nykjxx/nyxz/6163.shtml), the PBR can
be granted to either institute breeders or individual (hobby) breeders. For collaborative
breeding, the ownership of PBR is based on contract arrangement. If farmer-breeders and
other stakeholders have such recognition, farmers’ rights over local genetic resources can be
strengthened through contract arrangement.