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About the Book Malaysia has a unique and functional system in place for protecting intellectual property on plant varieties. Its Protection of New Plant Varieties Act 2004 provides for the granting of rights to plant breeders while also recognizing farmers’ innovations and safeguarding exceptions for their rights to save, use, exchange and sell seeds. This delicate balance could however be upended if Malaysia signs on the 1991 Act of the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV 1991). Designed to further the interests of commercial breeders in developed countries, the UPOV 1991 regime will severely restrict the age-old farming practice of seed saving and promote corporate seed monopolies in its stead, thereby undermining farming livelihoods, food security and agricultural biodiversity. Drawing on rigorous research and interactions on the ground with domestic food farmers, this report sounds a clarion call to resist pressures for Malaysia to join UPOV 1991, and makes the case for a plant variety protection framework that is more attuned to the needs of the country’s agricultural system. CONTENTS Lists of Tables, Figures and Charts Abbreviations Executive Summary 1. Background of Malaysia’s Agriculture System 2. Malaysia’s Seed Market 3. Malaysia’s Protection of New Plant Varieties System Performance of Malaysia’s Plant Variety Protection System Conclusion 4. International Treaties and Declarations Relevant to Plant Genetic Resources and Farmers’ Rights International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture Convention on Biological Diversity International Human Rights Instruments Conclusion 5. UPOV 1991 and Its Contradictions with Farmers’ Rights in International Treaties and Declarations Exceptions to Breeders’ Rights in UPOV 1991 Inflexible Legal Framework Impacting National Sovereignty Conclusion 6. The Rice Industry and Protected Rice Seed in Malaysia 7. Survey on the Practice of Saving, Using, Exchanging and Selling Seed Among Rice Paddy Farmers in the Northern States of Peninsular Malaysia Demography Land Ownership, Yield and Income Knowledge and Farming Practices Seed Saving, Exchange and Sale The Case of East Malaysia’s Paddy Farmers Discussion on the Survey and Interviews 8. Interviews with Malaysian Farmers on Vegetables, Fruits and Industrial Crop Plants 9. Pressure to Join UPOV 1991 and the Proposed Amendments to the PNPV Act 2004 UPOV and Free Trade Agreements East Asia Plant Variety Protection Forum Changes Required to the PNPV Act 2004 to Align with UPOV 1991 No Case for UPOV 1991 in Malaysia 10. Conclusion References Appendix 1: Plant Substance Validation Scheme List of the Malaysian Department of Agriculture Appendix 2: Interpretation of UPOV 1991 Article 15(1) and 15(2) Based on the UP “Guidance for the Preparation of Laws Based on the 1991 Act of the UPOV Convention” Appendix 3: List of Rice Seed Varieties Released for the Malaysian Market 1964-2021
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