Malaysian small-scale farmers worry about rights under proposed seed law changes

This is Part 1 of a two-part series. Part 2, forthcoming, will report more on Malaysia’s seed quality bill. On an August Sunday morning, a rice mill roars in a public park in the busy Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur. Paddy farmer Azhar Hashim has brought it from his house in Perak state, 280 kilometers (175 miles) away, for the farmers’ carnival. Golden paddy turns into white rice as the machine grinds. At the carnival, farmers and NGOs give out free seeds and plant cuttings, sell saplings and food made from their harvest. Visitors guess plant names from seeds. Many leave with freshly milled rice. The carnival is part of the Malaysia Food Sovereignty Forum (FKMM) initiative to bring farmers and public members together to talk about seeds — something that’s been in the public eye recently. FKMM, a coalition of farmers, fishers, breeders, academics and professionals, is opposing a proposed law amendment to Malaysia’s Protection of New Plant Varieties (PNPV) Act, which, if implemented, critics say could hurt the rights of small farmers. The PNPV Act came into force in 2007. Under this act, a plant breeder can apply to the government for exclusive rights over a new plant variety. If the variety meets the criteria, the breeder is granted 15- to 25-year breeder’s rights. The granted rights are gazetted and added to a public list. While the act protects breeders’ rights, it exempts small farmers who farm less than 0.2 hectares of land (0.5 acres, about 30% of the…This article was originally published on Mongabay