The federal government has expanded patent protections for plant breeders in a move critics say will further erode farmers’ rights while strengthening corporate control over seeds and crop varieties.Blacklock's Reporter says new regulations introduced by Agriculture Minister Heath MacDonald extend intellectual property protections on certain plant varieties from 20 to 25 years, including potatoes, asparagus and woody plants such as berry crops and ornamental shrubs.The changes, which took effect Wednesday under the Plant Breeders’ Rights Act, are intended to encourage more private-sector development in agriculture by giving breeders longer exclusive control over their products.“These intellectual property rights provide incentives for investment and innovation,” the agriculture department said in a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement, arguing the expanded protections would improve competitiveness and increase consumer choice through the introduction of new crop varieties.Ottawa also narrowed the scope of the existing “farmers’ privilege” exemption, which allows producers to save and reuse seeds from harvested crops. While the exemption remains for cereal and pulse crops such as wheat, oats, peas and lentils, it will no longer apply to hybrids, fruit and vegetable crops, or ornamental plants.Federal officials argued the broader exemption discouraged breeders from introducing new products into the Canadian market.“Horticulture and ornamental breeders are reluctant to introduce their new and improved varieties where there is an unrestricted farmers’ privilege,” the department stated..The government credited patent protections with supporting Canada’s $6 billion seed industry. Current protected varieties include hundreds of potatoes and apples, along with tomatoes, roses and other commercial crops.The changes have drawn opposition from organic farmers and advocacy groups, including the National Farmers Union and Friends of the Earth. A parliamentary petition signed by more than 6,200 people warned the policy would allow private companies to extract more revenue from farmers while undermining public plant breeding programs.The petition, sponsored by NDP MP Gord Johns, accused regulators of prioritizing corporate profit over farmers’ independence.The expanded patent regime traces back to the federal government’s 2014 Agricultural Growth Act, which aligned Canadian rules with international standards tied to the Canada-European Union trade agreement.At the time, then-agriculture minister Gerry Ritz brushed off critics as fringe activists opposed to intellectual property rights.“I am not interested in hearing from people from downtown Vancouver or downtown Montréal,” Ritz told the House of Commons during debate on the legislation. “I want to actually talk to farmers.”
