Presentation on Seed policies and regulatory reforms​ by David J Spielman, Senior Research Fellow, IFPRI/Program Leader Rwanda

1. Seed policies and regulatory
reforms
David J Spielman
International Food Policy Research Institute

2. “Seed system policy”
Seed system policy is the set of laws, regulations, guidelines,
programs, schemes, conventions, and investment choices that
together shape the acquisition, production, conservation, and use of
propagation materials for crops, forages, trees, livestock, and fish

3. • Many countries are embarking on new policy reforms
• Varietal release and registration rules
• Quality assurance regulations
• Subsidies and taxes on seed production and us
• Biodiversity conservation laws
• International and regional trade agreements
• Genetic resources policies
• Public R&D investments
Change is all around us

4. Breeding for success
• Many countries continue to
underinvest in breeding programs
• But even with additional funding,
research systems need an
enabling policy environment to
translate science into use
• This translation requires significant
regulatory reform

5. • Concerns about “counterfeiting”
has led to new emphasis on
quality control systems
• “Quality” is difficult to measure,
and farmers can be easily
cheated
• But is strict regulation and
regulatory enforcement the only
option?
Making markets work

6. • Input subsidy programs may be a long-term fixture
• But can they be refined – can they really be “smarter”?
Making input subsidies smarter

7. Navigating
the global
system
Int’l Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for
Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA)
AGO BGD CMR CAF CYP SLV ERI GHA GRC IRN
LBN LUX MLI SEN SWZ VEN ZMB ZWE
(18)
Int’l Union for
the Protection of New
Varieties of Plants (UPOV)
AIPO ARG AZE BOL BGR CHN
COL CZE ECU EST FRA GEO ISL
ISR JPN LVA LTU MNE NLD NZL
NIC OMN PRY POL PRT KOR
MDA ROU RUS SGP SVN MKD
TTO UKR TZA UZB
(36)
Nagoya Protocol on
Access to Genetic Resources
and Fair and Equitable
Sharing of Benefits
BEN BWA KHM COM COG COD
DJI FJI GMB GIN GNB GUY HND
IDN KAZ LAP LSP LBR MRT MUS
FSM MNG MOZ, MMR PAK PHL
RWA WSM SYC TJK UGA ARE
VUT
(33)
AUS AUT BEL BRA CAN
CHL CRI FIN DEU IRL
ITA MAR SRB SWE TUN
TUR USA
(17)
BTN BFA BDI CIV
CUB EGY ETH
GAB GTM IND
MDG MWI MHL
NAM NER SDN
SYR TGO
(18)
DNK JOR NOR
PER ESP CHE
GBR URY
(8)
ALB BLR HRV DOM
EU HUN KEN KGZ
MEX PAN SVK ZAF
VNM
(13)
AFG DZA AND
ATG ARM BHS
BHR BRB BLZ
BIH BRN CPV
TCD COK PRK
DMA VAT THA
TLS TON YEM
SLB SOM SSD
LKA PSE SUR
(27)
IRQ JAM KIR
KWT LBY LIE
MYS MDV MLT
MCO NRU NPL
NGA NIU PLW
PNG QAT KNA
LCA VCD SMR
STP SAU SLE
GNQ GRD HTI
TKM TUV (29)

8. Thank you
d.spielman@cgiar.org