Protection of Plant Varieties in Sri Lanka
Traditionally the term "plant variety protection" in agriculture referred to protecting a variety of a plant from various adverse effects such as climatic factors, toxic substances in soil, water or air infestations, pests and diseases or the degradation of the plant's essential characteristics by cross-breeding with other varieties. However, in the field of intellectual property law this term does not refer to any of the above. It refers to a monopoly right conferred on a breeder of a new plant variety restricting others from cultivating, selling, exchanging and using the variety for commercial, non-commercial and research purposes. In other words, this term refers to enabling a breeder of a new plant variety to have an exclusive right over the variety the breeder has developed.
Sri Lanka is predominantly an agricultural country, and the existence of the agrarian-based society dates back to more than 2,500 years. At present, the agricultural sector contributes more than 20 per cent of the country's gross national product (GNP), second only to the manufacturing sector. The agricultural landscape of the country consists mainly of the cultivation of rice, covering 780,000 hectares of cultivated land; plantation crops such as tea, rubber, coconut, sugarcane and spices amounting to about 772,000 hectares; vegetables covering 110,000 hectares; other field crops about 128,000 hectares; and home gardens covering 98,000 hectares.
Sri Lanka's farming systems, particularly rice, other field crops and home gardening, have evolved over a thousand years. Agriculturally used plants have been fundamentally altered from their wild relatives, and they have been reshaped to meet human needs and wants.
The "Draft" related to Plant Varieties
The primary objective of the draft is to provide for the registration of new plant varieties, but it also seeks to encourage the development of new varieties of plants and to protect the rights of farmers, breeders and researchers to develop these new varieties and to provide for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. The draft has been consistently criticized by various experts in the industry because of its non-inclusion of traditional varieties. It primarily only protects the new and unique varieties. The already existing and traditional varieties are excluded from any such protection. Therefore, it is likely that post the enactment of this legal framework, the farmers decide only to focus on such protected varieties that provide them exclusive rights. This is called as on-farm innovation. Therefore, in case, sometimes, traditional varieties can also form a part of the innovation. The effective inclusion and management of traditional varieties can help and motivate the farmers to go for manufacturing the traditional varieties as well.
Impact of effective protection on the plant industry
Seed production and transformation in Sri Lanka is an organised network. The Department of Agriculture (DOA) took the leadership in the 1950s in developing seed production programmes, with the introduction of high yielding varieties through breeding and selection. With more private sector involvement in local seed production, the Government declared a National Seed Policy (NSP) in 1996. The main trust of the NSP is to establish viable seed enterprises to facilitate Sri Lankan farmers to gain easy access to high quality seed and planting material, thereby enhancing yields, production and farm income. Yet, this was not entirely successful, and problems with regard to seed quality began to emerge. Hence in 2003, the Government enacted the Seed Act No.22 of 2003, to regulate the quality of seed and planting material, and to safeguard farmers as well as seed handlers from malpractices that would harm the seed industry of Sri Lanka. The aim of the act was simply to protect the interests of farmers and the quality of seeds and plant varieties.
Conclusion
Sri Lanka has a basic infrastructure regarding seed diffusion and transformation, and once the regulation related to plant varieties is in place it is matter of co-ordination between these sectors to maintain seed regulation. In a developing country such as Sri Lanka, PBR alone is not a suitable instrument to make breeding technology available for farmers. Other additional measures such as implementing farmers' rights are necessary to support poor farmers. Farmers should be included as breeders and there should be a mechanism to protect traditional or native varieties. The right of a farmer to save, sell and exchange seed has become a controversial issue with the introduction of regulation in Sri Lanka. This right is generally called "farmers' privilege". Given the fact that Sri Lanka does have the basic infrastructure to implement the regulation, the contents of the Act will be out-dated with further delays, and when it is finally implemented the Act will not be of much use to the country.
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