Abstract
Breeding innovations are relevant for sustainable agricultural development and food security, as new, resilient production systems require crop varieties optimally suited for these systems. In the societal debate around genetic engineering and other plant breeding innovations, ownership of patents on the technology used in the hands of large companies is often seen as a reason that small breeding companies are denied opportunities for further improving varieties or that farmers are restricted in using such varieties. However, intellectual property (IP) systems may also be used as tools to ensure the use of good agricultural practices when cultivating the resulting varieties. This paper explores documented cases in which IP systems (plant variety rights, patents and brand names) are used to promote that innovative varieties are grown according to good agricultural practices (GAP). These include effective disease resistance management regimes in innovative crop varieties of potato in order to prevent or delay pathogens from overcoming disease resistance genes, management regimes for transgenic insect-resistant Bt or herbicide-tolerant crops to prevent the development of resistant pests or weeds, respectively. The results are discussed with respect to the influence of breeders on GAP measures through various forms of IP and the contribution and role of other stakeholders, authorities and society at large in stimulating and ensuring the use of GAP.
Highlights
Plant breeding innovations are important for improving sustainability of agriculture and food production, as they speed up the process of making varieties that are suited for more sustainable agricultural systems, or they make it possible to breed them in a more precise way [1,2,3]
In the societal debate around genetic engineering and other plant breeding innovations, intellectual property (IP) systems such as patents are often perceived as hindering innovation because the access to plant genetic resources may be reduced, for small breeding companies, or the access to varieties may be restricted for farmers
We describe examples of effective integrated resistance management (IRM) regimes that need to be implemented in order to prevent or delay pathogens, pests or weeds from overcoming valuable resistance genes in new varieties, as single-resistance genes in particular are prone to being overcome by the continuous evolution of pathogens, whether they were introduced through classical introgression breeding or by modern biotechnological methods
Summary
Plant breeding innovations are important for improving sustainability of agriculture and food production, as they speed up the process of making varieties that are suited for more sustainable agricultural systems, or they make it possible to breed them in a more precise way [1,2,3]. These innovations, or the crop varieties made with them, are subsequently protected by intellectual property (IP) rights so that the breeding company or entity that produced the variety may earn back the investment. The gained insights will be discussed with respect to possible pros and cons from the points of view of the breeders, farmers and society in general
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
