The Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) believes that farmers' right to save seed for their own use should be entrenched in federal legislation and policy without restrictions. In a submission made today to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), the CWB is urging that amendments to the Plant Breeders' Rights Act assure farmers' interests are protected.

Currently, farmers are able to save seed from one crop year to the next, provided they use it themselves, because the Act does not prohibit the practice. Under proposed amendments to the Act, this right could be explicitly incorporated. However, it could be incorporated with restrictions, including allowing a breeder to collect royalties on saved seed.

"While it's important to reward those who take risks and make investments to ensure the seed breeding sector remains competitive, it's imperative that any changes to the Act don't put farmers' livelihoods at risk," said Ken Ritter, Chair of the CWB's farmer-controlled board of directors.

Other amendments could extend plant breeders' rights (PBR) to harvested material. If protected grain were to be found in CWB shipments, the CWB could be restricted in its ability to market the grain or could be held liable to the breeder for any royalties on that grain. This could affect the competitiveness of Western Canadian farmers and their success at marketing wheat and barley around the world.

"The proposed changes have the potential to negatively affect the entire western Canadian grain industry," said Ritter. "We are asking the government that any amendments to the Act ensure that farmers are the primary beneficiaries of advancements in plant breeding."

The CFIA is considering these changes to bring Canada's legislation into compliance with the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) 1991 convention.

Copies of the CWB submission to the CFIA can be found at www.cwb.ca.

Controlled by western Canadian farmers, the CWB is the largest wheat and barley marketer in the world. As one of Canada's biggest exporters, the Winnipeg-based company sells grain to more than 70 countries and returns all sales revenue, less marketing costs, to Prairie farmers.