At the same time, some US farm groups have been agitating about unfair competition from countries where seeds under patent in the US are grown by local farmers without paying the same royalties, licenses or technology user fees that US growers pay.
Below are position papers from the American Corn Growers Association and National Farmers Union supporting the Kaptur bill, recently filed in Congress, plus the Kaptur bill itself.
TITLE:
ACGA Endorses Seed Availability and Competition Act AUTHOR:
American Corn Growers Association PUBLICATION: ACGA News &
Views DATE: 9 July 2004 URL:
http://www.acga.org/News/default.htm
ACGA ENDORSES SEED AVAILABILITY
AND COMPETITION ACT
Kaptur Bill Will Restore Farmers' Rights
Washington, D.C., July 9, 2004 --- Larry Mitchell, CEO of the American Corn Growers (ACGA) announced his organization's support for a bill by Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, to decriminalize the act of saving patented seed.
"The ACGA supports efforts by Congress to amend the patent law to allow farmers to save seed for their own use," said Mitchell. "Moreover, ACGA believes it was never the intent of Congress, nor of the founding fathers upon providing for patents in the Constitution, that farmers ever lose their age-old right to save seed for their own use."
The Seed Availability and Competition Act of 2004 (H.R. 4693), introduced on June 24 by Representative Kaptur, would require persons who seek to retain seed harvested from the planting of patented seeds to register with the Secretary of Agriculture and pay technology fees set by the Secretary for retaining such seed. The U.S. Department of Agriculture would then pass the technology fees on to the appropriate patent holders.
The Seed Availability and Competition Act will also impose tariffs on any imported crops, raised from patented seed exported from the U.S., from countries where comparable technology fees are not charged. The tariff would be in addition to any duty that otherwise applies, in an amount that recovers the difference between the fees paid by purchasers of the seed in the U.S. and purchasers of the exported seed in that country.
"This bill will allow farmers to save patented seed as long as a producer reports the quantity and type of seed retained and pays a technology fee to USDA," added Mitchell. "This improvement in the law will restore a farmer's fundamental right to save and exchange seed. It also improves economic equity for U.S. farmers in the highly competitive international market."
For several years, ACGA and other grassroots organizations have been working with Missouri State Rep. Wes Shoemyer on similar state-level initiatives. Shoemyer's House Bill 829 is currently pending in the Missouri House of Representatives. Other similar initiatives are pending in Ohio.
The American Corn Growers Association represents 14,000 members in 35 states. See <-brk>www.acga.org.
TITLE: Sowing Seed to Save Seed AUTHOR: Dave Frederickson,
National Farmers Union President PUBLICATION: Editorial,
NFU News DATE: 7 July 2004 URL:
http://nfu.org/documents/editorials/2004/070704_seedsaver.p
df
SOWING SEED TO SAVE SEED
By Dave Frederickson, National Farmers Union President
Traditionally, farmers have kept a portion of their seed to replant the next year. Today, with the ability to patent life forms, farmers have lost control of their seedstock and are forced to buy new seed year after year, often from a single corporation.
Late last month, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur, D-Ohio, introduced a bill to allow farmers the right to save and replant patented seed. Her legislation offers a common-sense resolution to this difficult situation.
Kaptur's Seed Availability and Competition Act of 2004 would decriminalize the act of saving patented seed as long as a producer reports the quantity and type of seed retained and pay a technology fee to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The secretary of agriculture will then compensate the appropriate patent holders.
In addition, the proposed legislation would assess tariffs on imported products from countries that do not levy comparable technology fees. This would resolve a competitive disadvantage U.S. farmers have with farmers from countries where technology fees are not applied.
This legislation was driven by grassroots efforts in several states. Three years ago, Missouri State Rep. Wes Shoemyer began introducing seed-saving legislation with the support of Missouri Farmers Union. Ohio Farmers Union has championed seed-saving bills from state Sen. Marc Dann and Rep. L. George Distel. Similar legislation was also debated in the Senate Agriculture Policy Committee this year, but was tabled with no further action.
Farmers from across the country appreciate the benefits of patented seed technologies, but they do not appreciate that access to this seed often comes through a single source. The seeds these state and national leaders have sown to allow farmers to save seed should be nurtured in order to restore competition in the seed-producing arena.
National Farmers Union (<-brk>www.nfu.org) works to protect and enhance the economic interests and quality of life for rural citizens through legislative representation, educational opportunities and support for farmer-owned cooperative ventures. Contact NFU at nfunews(at)nfu.org.
TITLE: Seed Availability and Competition Act of 2004 (HR
4693) AUTHOR: US Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur DATE: 24
June 2004 URL:
http://thomas.loc.gov/home/c108query.html
(type
"HR 4693" in the "Bill Number" box)
SEED AVAILABILITY AND COMPETITION ACT
OF 2004
(Introduced in House)
HR 4693 IH
108th CONGRESS
2d Session
H.R. 4693
To require persons who seek to retain seed harvested from the planting of patented seeds to register with the Secretary of Agriculture and pay fees set by the Secretary for retaining such seed, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 24, 2004
Ms. KAPTUR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To require persons who seek to retain seed harvested from the planting of patented seeds to register with the Secretary of Agriculture and pay fees set by the Secretary for retaining such seed, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the 'Seed Availability and Competition Act of 2004'.
SEC. 2. RETAINING PATENTED SEED.
(a) Registration- Any person who plants patented seed or seed derived from patented seed may retain seed from the harvest of the planted seed for replanting by that person if that person-- (1) submits to the Secretary of Agriculture notice, in such form as the Secretary may require, of the type and quantity of seed to be retained and any other information the Secretary determines to be appropriate; and (2) pays the fee established by the Secretary pursuant to subsection (b) for the type and quantity of seed retained.
(b) Fees- The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish a fee to be paid by a person pursuant to subsection (a)(2) based on the type and quantity of seed retained. The Secretary shall deposit amounts collected pursuant to subsection (a)(2) in the Patented Seed Fund established under subsection (e)(1).
(c) Refunds- The Secretary of Agriculture may refund or make an adjustment of the fee paid pursuant to subsection (a)(2) when the person is unable to plant or harvest the retained seed as a result of a natural disaster or related condition and under such other circumstances as the Secretary considers such refund or adjustment appropriate.
(d) Distributions- The Secretary of Agriculture shall pay the collected fees to the appropriate patent holders, at a frequency that the Secretary determines is appropriate, from the Patented Seed Fund established under subsection (e)(1), taking into consideration the possibility of refunds pursuant to subsection (c).
(e) Patented Seed Fund- (1) Establishment- There is established in the Treasury of the United States a fund to be known as the 'Patented Seed Fund', consisting of such amounts as may be received by the Secretary and deposited into such Fund as provided in this section. (2) Administration- The Fund shall be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture and all moneys in the Fund shall be distributed solely by the Secretary in accordance with this section and shall not be distributed or appropriated for any other purpose. Amounts in the Fund are available without further appropriation and until expended to make payments to patent holders.
(f) Inapplicability of Contracts and Patent Fees- A person who retains seed under subsection (a) from the harvest of patented seed or seed derived from patented seed shall not be bound by any contractual limitation on retaining such seed, or by any requirement to pay royalties or licensing or other fees, by reason of the patent, for retaining such seed.
(g) Definition- In this section, the term 'patented seed' means seed for which a person holds a valid patent.
SEC. 3. TARIFF ON CERTAIN IMPORTED PRODUCTS.
(a) Tariff- In any case in which-- (1) genetically modified seed on which royalties or licensing or other fees are charged by the owner of a patent on such seed to persons purchasing the seed in the United States is exported, and (2) no such fees, or a lesser amount of such fees, are charged to purchasers of the exported seed in a foreign country, then there shall be imposed on any product of the exported seed from that foreign country that enters the customs territory of the United States a duty determined by the Secretary of the Treasury, in addition to any duty that otherwise applies, in an amount that recovers the difference between the fees paid by purchasers of the seed in the United States and purchasers of the exported seed in that country.
(b) Deposit of Duties- There shall be deposited in the Patented Seed Fund established by section 2(e)(1) the amount of all duties collected under subsection (a) for distribution to the appropriate patent holders in accordance with section 2(d).
(c) Definition- In this section-- (1) the term 'genetically modified seed' means any seed that contains a genetically modified material, was produced with a genetically modified material, or is descended from a seed that contained a genetically modified material or was produced with a genetically modified material; and (2) the term 'genetically modified material' means material that has been altered at the molecular or cellular level by means that are not possible under natural conditions or processes (including recombinant DNA and RNA techniques, cell fusion, microencapsulation, macroencapsulation, gene deletion and doubling, introducing a foreign gene, and changing the positions of genes), other than a means consisting exclusively of breeding, conjugation, fermentation, hybridization, in vitro fertilization, tissue culture, or mutagenesis.
GOING FURTHER (compiled by GRAIN)
Andrea Myers, "Feds catch on to
seed-saving woes", Farm and Dairy, Salem (Ohio), 1 July
2004.
http://www.zwire.com/site/News.cfm?BRD=1996&dept_id=459492&
newsid=12157495&PAG=461&rfi=9
"Seed-saving legislation is under consideration at federal,
state levels", CropChoice News, Washington DC, 30 June
2004.
http://www.cropchoice.com/leadstry.asp?recid=2631
"Seed-Saving Legislation Goes Federal",
Missouri Ag Connection, 30 June 2004.
http://www.missouriagconnection.com/story-state.cfm?Id=379&
yr=2004
"Seed-Saving Bill in Congress",
High Plains Journal, Dodge City (Kansas), 29 June 2004.
http://www.hpj.com/dtnnewstable.cfm?type=story&sid=12075
Greg Lamp, "Brazil Agrees to Pay
Royalties", The Corn and Soybean Digest, Minneapolis, 15
March 2004.
http://www.cornandsoybeandigest.com/mag/soybean_brazil_agre
es_pay/
American Soybean Association,
"ASA Urges Adoption of Royalty System for Brazilian
Exports Containing Pirated Soy", news release, St Louis, 21
May 2003.
http://www.soygrowers.com/newsroom/releases/2003%20releases
/r052103.htm