International Seminar on Farmers' Rights in the Context of Global Regime on Intellectual Property

SAWTEE  in association with Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and Development (LIBIRD) organised the  international seminar titled Farmers' Rights in the Context of Global Regime on Intellectual Property Rights on 28-29 August 2007. The objectives of the seminar were to facilitate the discussion among diverse groups of stakeholders on the concept of farmers' rights; examine the options available under and challenges posed by international and national intellectual property right (IPR) and access and benefit sharing (ABS) regimes; identify the mechanisms required to implement farmers' rights at the national and international level; and develop international and national agenda for developing countries to help their governments and stakeholders in preparing negotiating positions for international forums.

In his inaugural speech, Hon'ble Mr Bhim Prasad Neupane, Member, National Planning Commission, Government of Nepal highlighted the need to balance IPRs with the rights of farming communities, particularly in biodiversity-rich countries like Nepal. According to him, the current international IPR regime is not in favour of farmers' livelihood but there are still opportunities for developing countries to design and implement farmer-friendly domestic policies and laws. He mentioned that the Government of Nepal is in the process of implementing the Plant Variety Protection Law, which ensures farmers' rights while balancing them with plant breeders' rights.

Giving the welcome speech at the inaugural session, Dr Pratap Shrestha, Executive Director of LIBIRD highlighted the objectives and themes of the programme. He emphasised that biodiversity is closely associated with farming communities without which, conservation is not possible. He also mentioned that the commercial utilisation along with the conservation of biodiversity is a must and should be seen from both monetary, and non-monetary (cultural, livelihood, etc.) perspectives.

Chairing the inaugural session, Mr Ratnakar Adhikari, Executive Chairman of SAWTEE highlighted the background of the Farmer's Rights Programme, which is being implemented in South Asia by SAWTEE in association with its network Members in the region. With regard to Article 27.3 (b) of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) under the World Trade Organization (WTO), he said that developed countries are signing up bilateral trade agreements with developing countries after the partial failure of the Doha Round of trade negotiations. He stated that developed countries are exerting pressure on developing countries to agree to TRIPS plus conditions in such bilateral agreements, threatening the interest of farming communities of developing countries. Concluding his remarks, he said that biodiversity must be utilised to secure the livelihood of farming communities along with its conservation.      

Ms Rizwana Hasan, Director of Bangladesh Environmental Lawyer's Association (BELA) gave vote of thanks to all the participants at the seminar. She mentioned that farmers’ rights should not only be seen in the context of IPRs in developing countries where farmers constitute a majority of the population and continue to contribute to agriculture development.

The seminar was divided into six sessions: "Farmers' Rights and IPRs: Conceptual Issues and Present Understanding"; "Farmers' Rights and IPRs: Perspectives of the Breeders and Seed Companies"; "Farmers' Rights and IPRs: Perspectives of Farmers and Farmers' Organisations"; "International Regime on IPRs: Options and Challenges"; "Institutional Mechanisms within National Regimes on IPRs and ABS"; and "National and International Agenda for Developing Countries."

More than 50 participants from Bangladesh, Bhutan, France, India, Malaysia, Nepal, Norway, Pakistan and Sri Lanka participated in the two-day event.