b'For Parker, his appointment to the global UPOV coun-cil as vice-president is a culmination of Canada havingWHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF PLANT finally adopted UPOV 91.BREEDERS RIGHTS FOR CANADIANS?It wasnt just the seed industry that made that happen; it was Canadian agriculture as a whole. Its remarkableAn effective Plant Breeders Rights system encourages what you can achieve when the seed industry and theinvestment in plant breeding programs which result in entire ag community get behind something. the development and promotion of new, improved and Balanced Viewpoints innovative plant varieties.In these times of climate change, increased investmentA strong plant breeding program can:in plant breeding is needed, Keller says. Its key to have Increase yields in crop varietiesleaders who understand how to balance the many voices in the discussion. Improve quality in new varieties, leading to higher-value There are new tools available with genome editing,products with increased marketabilitywhich the seed sector will use to tackle the issues we are I mprove nutritional content in new varieties, leading to facing. Having said this, we have to find the right balancehuman health benefitsbecause we should never forget that genome editing will never replace the whole breeding process, Keller says. Enhance disease resistance and stress tolerance, In any case, organizations in UPOV member countriesresulting in reduced lossesare not obliged to follow guidelines or explanatory notesReduce the need for fertilizers and pesticides, leading from UPOV, but the organization provides crucial guid-ance and confidence to investors that a member countryto environmental benefitsis a friendly place to do business and takes PBR seriously.Provide a wider selection of plant varieties for Edgar Krieger is secretary-general for the Internationallandscaping, cut flowers and potted plantsCommunity of Breeders of Asexually Reproduced Horticultural Plants (CIOPORA) based in Switzerland. TheSource: CFIAassociation brings together plant breeders, breeder asso-ciations, IP experts and consultants whose joint efforts are aimed at the development, improvement, and harmoniza-tion of Plant Variety Protection (PVP) systems worldwide. objective to create a balance between biotechnology Vegetatively propagated crops are in the direst need ofinventors and traditional breeders and to bring mutations strong PBR protection, Krieger notes, because it is so easyunder the scope of protection of their initial variety. to propagate them.Anthony understands we need to broaden the EDV The UPOV Plant Breeders Rights system is the tailor- concept so that breeders are compensated when someone made protection for plant varieties and has support of thebuilds off of their variety, Krieger says.breeders. But like any policy area, there are challenges inOf course, nothing is ever black-and-white, and Parker the world of global IP, he says.acknowledges there are legitimate arguments against In Kriegers view, Parkers appointment comes at abroadening the EDV concept.time when the discussions in UPOV are tough, as theyThe EDV concept was intended to strike a balance circle around the cornerstones of this systemwhat issomewhere in between protecting the legitimate rights propagating material, how does the protection of har- of the breeder who came up with the first variety, but vested material work, and what constitutes an Essentiallyalso other side of the equation, ensuring that people can Derived Variety (EDV).access other peoples germplasm freely for breeding pur-Ive known Anthony for over 10 years, and he is defi- poses, Parker says. nitely the right choice for this important post in UPOV;Some dont want this stronger interpretation of the he has the leadership to move the discussions in the rightEDV concept, concerned that it may have a chilling effect direction, Krieger says.on the use of new breeding techniques. Theyre saying, Krieger points to the discussion on EDVs as just oneLook, this is a powerful new tool, we want it to be used area where Parker is a staunch defender of plant breeders.often and were worried that if you set the threshold too The concept of EDVs is a controversial one, and somehigh for EDVs, its not going to get utilized. Theres a want to limit the EDV concept to varieties which can belot of important points to take into consideration in this distinguishable from the initial variety by a very limiteddiscussion. One always needs to appreciate and under-number of characteristics only. All leading breedersstand different perspectives on any issue. Ultimately, we associations and most UPOV members say this interpreta- need IP rights to be strong and effective, but also fair and tion limits the EDV concept and does not achieve UPOVsbalanced. 6GERMINATION.CAJANUARY 2023'