Agriculture Growth Act patently absurd

Abstract

The Agricultural Growth Act, Bill C-18, is an omnibus bill amending nine separate pieces of agricultural legislation that would greatly increase corporate control of seed and result in higher seed costs for farmers. Previous legislation that would be amended by this act include: The Plant Breeders' Rights Act (PBRA) and the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), which is an international convention of which Canada is a member state and signatory. The primary purpose of the C-18 measures is to increase revenues for seed companies. It is anticipated that litigation and the gradual de-registration of publicly available varieties will result in farmers replacing farm-saved seed with seed purchased from the company every year.

Date

2014-04-16

Issue

1

Title	Agriculture Growth Act patently absurd
Abstract	The Agricultural Growth Act, Bill C-18, is an omnibus bill amending nine separate pieces of agricultural legislation that would greatly increase corporate control of seed and result in higher seed costs for farmers. Previous legislation that would be amended by this act include: The Plant Breeders' Rights Act (PBRA) and the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), which is an international convention of which Canada is a member state and signatory. The primary purpose of the C-18 measures is to increase revenues for seed companies. It is anticipated that litigation and the gradual de-registration of publicly available varieties will result in farmers replacing farm-saved seed with seed purchased from the company every year.
Journal	Island farmer
Date	2014-04-16
Volume	41
Issue	1
ISSN	0823-7735