QUECHUA Indians in Peru have regained commercial rights to potato varieties they have grown and bred over the past 7000 years, following a deal with a gene bank that previously held the rights. The agreement, a world first, could lead to similar deals elsewhere to return rights in major crops to the communities that discovered them.
The agreement initially covers 206 varieties. It was struck between the Lima-based International Potato Center, part of a global network of agricultural gene banks, and Indians who have established a 鈥減otato park鈥� in the Andes to ensure the plants鈥� survival.
Deals like this one prevent multinational seed companies patenting traditional varieties of crops to exploit their native genes. This practice has sometimes forced communities to pay fees for growing seeds they originally bred.
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In Bangkok next month, governments that signed the Convention on Biological Diversity 13 years ago will discuss ways of returning rights to other crops.
