COMMENT | Upov int'l agreement threatens farmers' rights, biodiversity

COMMENT | The Malaysian Food Sovereignty Forum is raising the alarm that the Agriculture and Food Security Ministry continues to push for Malaysia to accede to the 1991 Act of the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (Upov 1991).

This is despite widespread objections from farmers and civil society organisations.

Upov 1991 is a draconian international agreement that threatens to hand over control of Malaysia’s seed sector to foreign commercial interests.

It will result in higher seed prices, increased risk of biopiracy of local genetic resources, and the systematic erosion of the rights of farmers, including indigenous peoples and local communities (IPLC).

Every upcoming sitting of Parliament now represents a critical turning point - a moment of reckoning for the very communities whose rights Parliament is constitutionally mandated to uphold and protect.

The existing Protection of New Plant Varieties Act 2004 (PNPV 2004)...