Farmer groups and their civil society allies will gather at the Agriculture Ministry on Wednesday to oppose draft legal changes that would align Thailand with an international convention granting plant breeders stronger intellectual property rights over new seed varieties.
The groups warn the changes could curb farmers’ rights to save, share and exchange seeds.
The move follows a petition submitted last week by 146 civil society groups to a Senate committee, urging scrutiny of the government’s push to join the 1991 Act of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV 1991) as part of Thailand-EU free trade negotiations next week in Phuket.
Prokchon Usap, director of Biothai, said the groups would submit a letter to the ministry opposing any move towards accession.
“The ministry should immediately stop any attempt to amend the Plant Varieties Protection Act BE 2542 to bring it into line with UPOV 1991,” she said, warning farmers could become more dependent on buying seeds and the market, particularly for rice seed, could become concentrated among large companies.
Sorawut Nuengchamnong, secretary to the Agriculture Ministry, said farmers would not be affected by accession because the convention applies to newly developed protected varieties, while varieties not protected by breeders’ rights could still be saved and shared.
He said stronger breeders’ rights could improve Thailand’s seed-breeding capacity and exports.