b"IS UPOV 91 RIGHT FOR YOU?CANADAS PLANT BREEDERS' RIGHTS COMMISSIONER WHOLEHEARTEDLY SAYS YES.BY: SHEL ZOLKEWICHS ince 1961, the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) has been the governing body when it comes to providing and promoting an effective system of plant variety protection worldwide. Its aim is a simple and straightforward oneto encourage the development of new varieties of plants for the benefit of society.The UPOV Convention has been routinely updated to reflect the technological developments in plant breeding, the latest update coming in 1991. Anthony Parker, commissioner for the Plant Breeders Rights Office of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency based in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, tells us what ratifying UPOV 91 has meant for Canadas breeders, farmers and the public. EUROPEAN SEED (ES): WHY WAS IT IMPORTANT FOR CANADA TO JOIN UPOV?ANTHONY PARKER (AP):In Canada, the agriculture sector is a key driver of economic growth and prosperity. It was important for Canada to implement a domestic Plant Breeders Rights (PBR) Act and join UPOV in order to foster increased investment and innovation in domestic plant breeding. Strengthening our intel- Anthony Parker, commissioner for the Plant Breeders' Rights Office of the lectual property protection framework for plant varieties alsoCanadian Food Inspection Agency.gave foreign plant breeders greater confidence to release their new varieties in Canada. The net benefit is that Canadian farm- more positive business environment stemming from UPOV ers could now access more new and innovative plant varieties91 implementation. In other sectors such as fruit crops and with improved characteristics (yield, quality, disease resistance),vegetables, farmers are witnessing greater access to new allowing them to be more competitive in a global marketplace. varieties that were bred in other countries.ES: IN 2015, CANADA JOINED THE UPOVES: WHAT ABOUT APPLICATIONS FOR NEW CROP CONVENTION OF 1991. WHAT WERE THE MAINTYPES? DID YOU SEE ANY CHANGES THERE?REASONS FOR ADOPTING THIS LATEST VERSION? AP:The moment UPOV 91 amendments were tabled in the AP:When Canada joined UPOV in 1991, we became a contractingCanadian Parliament, applications for certain crop types increased party to the 1978 Act of the UPOV Convention. Canadas UPOVimmediately. Before UPOV 91, on average the PBR office would see 78-based PBR Act was very successful in supporting domesticabout 23 applications for new potato varieties annually. Since adop-breeding programs (public and private), and attracting new planttion of UPOV 91 we see on average 36, representing a 57 per cent varieties into Canada from other countries. However, over timeincrease. Roughly 80 per cent of new potato varieties coming into it became evident that our intellectual property framework wasthe Canadian market are from foreign breeders, largely European no longer strong enough to attract the same levels of investmentUnion member countries and the United States. Similarly, fruit and access to new genetics as observed with our key tradingand vegetable applications have also spiked. Prior to UPOV 91 our partners (United States, European Union, Japan, Australia andPBR office would receive on average 24 new applications for fruit South Korea) who were party to UPOV 91. The Canadian govern- and vegetable crops annually. This has now doubled to an average ment conducted extensive consultations with our stakeholderof 49. The number of applications for agriculture crops has also community, including farmers, breeders and the seed trade, andincreased. While Canada was in UPOV 78 we averaged 93 applica-concluded that there was strong support to move to UPOV 91. tions for agriculture varieties annually. With the adoption of UPOV 91 the average is now 135, representing a 45 per cent increase. ES: ONCE YOU JOINED UPOV 91, WHICH WERE THEHowever, not all crop kinds have been increasing. In fact, since MAIN CHANGES THAT YOU NOTICED IN CANADA? 2005 Canada has been observing a decline in the number of orna-AP:Immediately after joining UPOV 91 we noticed fairlymental varieties seeking protection. The adoption of UPOV 91 did significant changes. More breeding companies were interestedstop the decline of applications, and we are now at a steady state in Canada, both in terms of investing and releasing newlevel with no observable growth. It should be noted that interna-varieties into the Canadian marketplace. Limagrain, thetionally the number of ornamental PBR titles have been declining fourth-largest seed company globally, set up a cereal breedingslightly, and the effects could be exasperated in small markets station in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. They have been very opensuch as Canada.in communicating that this would have never happened if Canada had remained in UPOV 78. Bayer (since transitioningES: DO YOU THINK THE ABSENCE OF PLANT their seed business to BASF) also opened a wheat breedingBREEDERS RIGHTS IN A COUNTRY PROVIDES A program in Pike Lake, Saskatchewan, as a result of theBARRIER TO SEED SECTOR GROWTH?28IEUROPEAN SEEDIEUROPEAN-SEED.COM"