BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov. 5
By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:
Kazakhstan's agriculture sector could gain several benefits by becoming a member of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), Vice Secretary-General of UPOV Peter Button told Trend.
Button noted that Kazakhstan started the procedure to become a UPOV member on April 7, 2000.
In his words, the UPOV Report on the Impact of Plant Variety Protection demonstrated that in order to enjoy the full benefits which plant variety protection is able to generate, both implementation of the UPOV Convention and membership of UPOV are important.
“The introduction of the UPOV system of plant variety protection and UPOV membership were found to be associated with: increased breeding activities, greater availability of improved varieties,
increased number of new varieties, diversification of types of breeders (e.g. private breeders, researchers), increased number of foreign new varieties, encouraging the development of new industry competitiveness on foreign markets, and improved access to foreign plant varieties and enhanced domestic breeding programs,” he said.
For example, Button said, a study in Viet Nam has linked productivity and environmental benefits to UPOV membership by comparing agriculture in Viet Nam before and after UPOV membership.
“In the period 1995-2005, before UPOV membership, rice, corn (maize) and sweet potatoes increased yields were mainly through an increased level of inputs – with no detectable increase due to plant breeding. In the 10-year period after UPOV membership, yields in rice, maize and sweet potato increased annually by 1.7 percent, 2.1 percent, and 3.1 percent, respectively, thanks to plant breeding,” he said.
In Button’s words, Vietnamese farmers in 2016 were producing approximately 20 percent more on their arable land than before UPOV membership. In Viet Nam, since UPOV membership in 2006, the yearly income of farmers increased by over 24 percent. The overall impact of plant breeding activities investments on the GDP has been calculated at around $5 billion (more than 2.5 percent of the national Viet Nam GDP).
“In order to become a UPOV member, the advice of the UPOV Council in respect of the conformity of the law of a future member with the provisions of the UPOV Convention is required. This procedure leads, in itself, to a high degree of harmony in those laws, thus facilitating cooperation between members in the implementation of the system,” Button emphasized.
---
Follow the author on Twitter: @nargiz_sadikh