The PVT, he said, “allows plant breeders to register their patent on their seeds, such that anyone who produces the seed without their assent will be criminalized, and it can get to a point where the seeds that are not registered will be barred from being used.”
“The bill aligns with the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants , a patent driven system formulated without participation of African countries.“From my interpretation of the convention, it was designed by countries where agriculture is a business rather than a way of life, and the sector is driven by capitalists, where focus is making money and nothing else.”
He noted that although proponents of the Bill argued that when the law was passed in Vietnam, it led to increase food production. But the truth is that, the Bill will open the back door for genetically modified varieties.