FARMERS RIGHTS AND GENETIC CONSERVATION IN TRADITIONAL FARMING SYSTEMS

Crop genetic resources are concentrated in some of the world's poorest farming systems. These resources have been used by industrial countries without compensating farmers. Concerns for equity and conservation have led to proposals to protect crop genetic resources as intellectual property. This paper argues that conventional intellectual property regulations (e.g. utility patents and plant variety protection) should not be used to protect crop genetic resources. It suggests that farmers' rights, as an alternate form of intellectual property rights, be used to indirectly compensate farmers by supporting genetic conservation. It examines methods of in situ conservation for crop genetic resources.