Freeing Crop Genetics through the Open Source Seed Initiative

Luby, Claire H.; Goldman, Irwin L.

doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1002441

Cited by 22 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…Essentially, open source safeguards access to a common good and is therefore creating a protected commons preventing privatization [ 35 ]. During the past six years, approaches to create open source plant germplasm have evolved in the United States [ 36 ], in Germany [ 37 ], in India [ 38 ], and in East Africa [ 39 ].…”

Section: Approaches To Create Open Source Plant Germplasmmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Open Source Seed Initiative (OSSI) was founded 2012 in the US by a group of academic and nonacademic plant breeders, farmers, nonprofit agencies, seed advocates, and policymakers as the first organization for the development of open source seeds [ 36 ]. Inspired by Michaels [ 31 ], who had already presented the idea of a General Public Licence for plant germplasm in 1999, OSSI developed a licence.…”

Section: Approaches To Create Open Source Plant Germplasmmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Open Source Seed Licence: A novel approach to safeguarding access to plant germplasm

Kotschi¹,

Horneburg

2018

PLoS Biol

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The laws to secure intellectual property rights on plant germplasm have been strongly developed in parallel to the ongoing seed market consolidation. Germplasm as a commons, i.e., a natural resource accessible to all members of a society, receives almost no legal protection. On the other hand, the use of germplasm and released cultivars in breeding is increasingly restricted by intellectual property rights. In this study, approaches to open source plant germplasm are discussed, and the Open Source Seed (OSS) Licence is introduced and analysed. The OSS Licence was developed by an interdisciplinary working group of plant breeders, agricultural scientists, lawyers, and commons experts in Europe. The aim is to protect germplasm as a commons, support the free exchange of germplasm, stimulate plant breeding, reduce costs, and accelerate innovation. The OSS Licence is a legal tool and novel approach that extends its reach on derivatives of licenced germplasm. It is compatible with current seed laws. Effects on the access to plant germplasm, on breeding for diverse pedoclimatic environments, socioeconomic systems, and on biodiversity as a whole can first show after a few breeding cycles. The impact of open source germplasm on these aspects needs to be monitored carefully.

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Section: Approaches To Create Open Source Plant Germplasmmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Approaches To Create Open Source Plant Germplasmmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Open Source Seed Licence: A novel approach to safeguarding access to plant germplasm

Kotschi¹,

Horneburg

2018

PLoS Biol

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“…Seed systems are often described as being formal (e.g., registered or certified seed), informal (e.g., farmer or local seed), and mixed or integrated [e.g., quality declared seed (QDS)]. The weaknesses of such a rigid framework are well-recognized (Coomes et al, 2015), and may promote misconceptions about system strengths and weaknesses (Thiele, 1999;Coomes et al, 2015;Urrea-Hernandez et al, 2016), particularly given the growing recognition and appreciation of mixed or integrated models facilitating smallholder access (ASF, 2016;Luby and Goldman, 2016;McGuire and Sperling, 2016;Montenegro de Wit, 2017). Here we use the terms formal and informal for simplicity, but with full recognition of their limitations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Raising the Stakes: Cassava Seed Networks at Multiple Scales in Cambodia and Vietnam

Delaquis

Andersen

Minato

et al. 2018

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

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Cassava is one of the most important annual crops in Southeast Asia, and faces increasing seed borne pest and disease pressures. Despite this, cassava seed systems have received scant research attention. In a first analysis of Vietnamese and Cambodian cassava seed systems, we characterized existing cassava seed systems in 2016-2017 through a farmer survey based approach at both national and community scales, with particular focus on identifying seed system actors, planting material management, exchange mechanisms, geographies, and variety use, and performed a network analysis of detected seed movement at the provincial level. Despite their status as self-organized "informal" networks, the cassava seed systems used by farmers in Vietnam and Cambodia are complex, connected over multiple scales, and include links between geographically distant sites. Cassava planting material was exchanged through farmer seed systems, in which re-use of farm-saved supply and community-level exchanges dominated. At the national level, use of self-saved seed occurred in 47 and 64% of seed use cases in Cambodia and Vietnam, respectively. Movement within communes was prevalent, with 82 and 78% of seed provided to others being exchanged between family and acquaintances within the commune in Cambodia and Vietnam, respectively. Yet, meaningful proportions of seed flows, mediated mostly by traders, also formed inter-provincial and international exchange networks, with 20% of Cambodia's seed acquisitions imported from abroad, especially neighboring Vietnam and Thailand. Dedicated seed traders and local cassava collection points played important roles in the planting material distribution network at particular sites. Sales of planting material were important means of both acquiring and providing seed in both countries, and commercial sale was more prevalent in high-intensity than in low-intensity production sites. Considerable variability existed in local seed networks, depending on the intensity of production and integration with trader networks. Adapted innovations are needed to Delaquis et al. Cassava Seed-Vietnam and Cambodia upgrade cassava seed systems in the face of emerging pests and diseases, taking into account and building on the strengths of the existing systems; including their social nature and ability to quickly and efficiently distribute planting materials at the regional level.

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“…quality declared seed). The weaknesses of such a rigid framework are well recognized (Coomes et al, 2015), and may promote misconceptions about system strengths and weaknesses (Thiele, 1999;Coomes et al, 2015;Urrea-Hernandez et al, 2016), particularly given the growing recognition and appreciation of mixed or integrated models facilitating smallholder access (ASF, 2016;Luby and Goldman, 2016;McGuire and Sperling, 2016;Montenegro de Wit, 2017). Here we use the terms formal and informal for simplicity, but with full recognition of their limitations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Raising the stakes: cassava seed networks at multiple scales in Cambodia and Vietnam

Delaquis

Andersen

Minato

et al. 2018

Preprint

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24Cassava is one of the most important annual crops in Southeast Asia, and faces increasing seed borne 25 pest and disease pressures. Despite this, cassava seed systems have received scant research attention. 26In a first analysis of Vietnamese and Cambodian cassava seed systems, we characterized existing 27 cassava seed systems in 2016-17 through a farmer survey based approach at both national and 28 community scales, with particular focus on identifying seed system actors, planting material 29 management, exchange mechanisms, geographies, and variety use, and performed a network analysis 30 of detected seed movement at the provincial level. Cassava seed -Vietnam and Cambodia 2 commercial sale was more prevalent in high-intensity than in low-intensity production sites. 44Considerable variability existed in local seed networks, depending on the intensity of production and 45 integration with trader networks. Adapted innovations are needed to upgrade cassava seed systems in 46 the face of emerging pests and diseases, taking into account and building on the strengths of the 47 existing systems; including their social nature and ability to quickly and efficiently distribute planting 48 materials at the regional level. 49

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Freeing Crop Genetics through the Open Source Seed Initiative

Cited by 22 publications

References 8 publications

The Open Source Seed Licence: A novel approach to safeguarding access to plant germplasm

The Open Source Seed Licence: A novel approach to safeguarding access to plant germplasm

Raising the Stakes: Cassava Seed Networks at Multiple Scales in Cambodia and Vietnam

Raising the stakes: cassava seed networks at multiple scales in Cambodia and Vietnam

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