Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

CiteULike is a free service for managing and discovering scholarly references - click here to get started.

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
South Asia Economic Journal
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Ramanna, A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

IPRs and Agriculture: South Asian Concerns

Anitha Ramanna

Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Goregaon (East), Mumbai

Important concerns face South Asian countries in formulating their IPR policies in agriculture. The major issues include: the implications of IPRs on the price of seeds, the rise of bio-piracy; access of farmers to seeds and the impact of property rights on biodiversity. Various countries in the region are currently attempting to evolve a twin strategy of granting both plant breeders' rights (a form of IPR for plant varieties) with farmers' rights (rights of farmers to engage in and benefit from their agricultural practices).

India is one of the first countries to have passed such a law, known as the Protec tion of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001. Pakistan has passed the Plant Breeders' Rights Ordinance, 2000. Bangladesh is proposing two legislations dealing with protection of plant varieties and community rights and Sri Lanka has proposed the Protection of New Plant Varieties (Breeders' Rights), 2001. Nepal, it is reported, is formulating a draft on Genetic Resource Access and Benefit Sharing.

The twin strategy is a step towards trying to recognize farmers' rights, but its viability must also be closely evaluated. In framing their IPR legislations, South Asian countries must aim to grant rights tied to duties under the broader perspective of development. The South Asian countries, rather than focusing purely on inde pendent national legislations, could evolve a coordinated strategy that would pro vide greater benefits for the entire region.

Key Words: (JEL: 034) Keywords: Intellectual Property Rights • Farmers' Rights. Biodiversity • World Trade Organization.

South Asia Economic Journal, Vol. 4, No. 1, 55-71 (2003)
DOI: 10.1177/139156140300400105
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?