The evolution of registration systems with a special emphasis on agrobiodiversity conservation

Variety registration procedures serve various purposes, and their origin and current application in different countries have a differential impact on the number of varieties available to farmers and the total genetic diversity that they represent. Most of the models for variety registration that have been developed to date do not recognize specifically farmers’ varieties such as traditional landraces or the new varieties developed by farmers in participatory plant breeding. Seed regulation and variety registration, in particular, were developed with the objective of increasing crop production by safeguarding farmers from purchasing bad quality seed of poorly performing varieties. When the archetype seed laws were originally developed – the same ones that many developing countries have copied – policy makers were not concerned with diversity conservation or how the use of farmers’ traditional varieties could play a role in the economic development of rural areas and specific local markets. The development of variety registration systems shows that they have evolved together with farmers’ changing needs, including current concerns about diversity. This chapter deals with the origins of variety registration regulations, their implementation and their impacts on the use and improvement of farmers’ varieties. In this chapter, we document how variety registration systems have developed in Europe and the United States and how developing countries have adopted these models. Then we discuss how variety registration and sui generis models for the protection of plant varieties are linked. In addition, we discuss the operation of the current systems and how strict compulsory registration systems may outlaw the use, or at least the marketing, of the seeds from farmers’ varieties. We then examine attempts in Europe to correct this restriction and to merge the objectives of the seed and biodiversity policies. While these initiatives appear to have the potential for a positive impact on the use of farmers’ varieties, it is too early to assess their actual impact.