The Canadian Plant Technology Agency vows it will clamp down on the illegal sale of protected seed in Canada.
“We are going to be part of not only the education process but the policing process,” said agency board chair Bruce Howison. “We are obviously concerned about this problem.”
Certified seed is protected under the federal Plant Breeders’ Rights Act, which spells out the rights and responsibilities of farmers using new seed technologies.
Protected seed varieties often are grown from certified seed and contain the same novel traits as certified seed.
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Howison said most producers are “honest and straightforward.” But there is evidence, he said, that the illegal sale of protected seed, commonly known as brown bagging, is happening across Canada.
“There is a very small portion (of growers) out there prepared to literally break the law.”
The Canadian Plant Technology Agency was incorporated with 11 founding members in 1998. Part of its mandate is the enforcement of plant breeders’ rights.
The agency says brown bagging can vary from simply sharing or selling small quantities of protected seed to family and friends through to large-scale abuse of the law.
Royalties collected from the sale of protected seed help in the development of new seed varieties, said Darryl Hammond, the agency’s executive director.
“If law-abiding farmers of the past few years didn’t pay the proper royalties, there simply would not be as many good varieties of seed to choose from today.”
The agency cited the example of a case it said ended last year in which a farmer in southwestern Manitoba sold protected seed to a neighbor.
The exchange of seed in early 1998 led to a string of legal proceedings before a settlement was reached last March. By the time the case was closed, $25,000 was spent on legal fees.
According to the agency, the farmer who brown bagged the seed was forced to pay the royalties that were due. Meanwhile, the company that developed the seed had to dedicate time, money and effort to collect what it was owed.
“We believe this is a good example of what it means to a producer and seed company to go through this,” said Howison.
“Obviously both parties incurred significant expense.”
