Plant Breeding

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Plant Breeding

• A Story of Continuous Flow of Genetic
  Resources

2

• Short Introduction to ENZA ZADEN
• Type and Acquiring of Genetic Resources
• Use of Genetic Resources in Plant Breeding
• Benefit Sharing

3
Short introduction to Enza Zaden

• Enza Zaden is a family owned vegetable
  breeding
• company
• Established in 1938 in Enkhuizen , The
  Netherlands
• Specialized in Greenhouse and Open Field crops
• 18 research stations in 12 countries
  worldwide
• Employees worldwide 1000
• Turnover of 140 million Euro
• RD budget of gt20 of turnover

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Headquarters Enkhuizen
Joep van Balen 2008
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Type of Genetic Resources predominantly used

• Own varieties and breeding material
• Varieties from competitors
• Landraces and Wild species

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Varieties from Competitors

• Are widely used in breeding programs
• Varieties protected by Plant Breeders Rights can
  be used for further breeding under UPOVs
  Breeders Exemption

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Landraces and Wild species

• Landraces and Wild species used in plant breeding
  are in most cases obtained from Ex-Situ
  collections.
• Genebanks
• Research Institutes
• Universities
• Botanical Gardens

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Genebanks

• Some Genebanks have adopted the sMTA of the
  Multilateral System of the ITPGRFA
• Conditions and terms for Access and Benefit
• Sharing are standarized
• Practical,transparant and non discriminatory
• Legal certainty is provided for both provider
  and
• user of GR
• Level playing field
• At the moment a number of genebanks collections
  is not available for different reasons which are
  not always clear

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Other GR collection holders

• In some contacts uncertainty exists with the
  provider and user party concerning
• -How to be sure you handle in compliance with
  CBD?
• -Is the provider authorised to grant PIC and
  access?
• This leads at the moment in a number of
  negotiations to a stop on access and as a
  consequence to benefit sharing
• Sometimes cooperation is agreed in Good Faith ,
  but this gives no legal certainty.

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Use of Genetic Resources

• To create new varieties in a sustainable way
• Adapted to changing climate conditions
• Resistant to diseases and pests
• Health improving

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Exploration of Genetic Resources
Evaluation of Genetic Resources
Small scale F1 hybrid production
Crosses of individuals carrying desired traits
and production of homozygous lines
Evaluation of the newly produced hybrids
Combinations of possible parental lines for F1
hybrids
Large scale F1 hybrid production and continued
evaluation
2
10-11 Years
Analysis of the offsprings deriving from these
crosses
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Benefit Sharing

• Breeders exemption
• Assisting in regeneration of collections
• Sharing of research results
• Capacity building
• Participating in collecting missions

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Sharing of results of research

• Bilateral projects between provider and user
  under specified conditions mutually agreed on by
  the contracting parties
• Joint projects of the Dutch Seed Trade
  coordinated by The Dutch Seed Association
  Plantum NL
• -In European GENRES projects
• -Center for Genetic Resources, the Netherlands
  (CGN)

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Cooperation CGN
and Seed Trade

• To secure conservation and sustainable use
• To enhance the collection of CGN by
  characterisation and evaluation
• Regeneration
• Disease screening in different crops of the CGN
  collection
• Participating in collecting missions
• Accessions have been made available under MTA or
  sMTA of ITPGRFA to participants

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Contracts

• The plant breeding sector is strongly in favour
  of broader use of the sMTA of ITPGRFA by
  extending of crops in the Annex I
• -Respects IPR
• -Recognizes the Breeders exemption
• -Easy in handling without high adminstrative
  costs
• -Avoids new regulations and more adminstrative
  burden
• Experiences with genebanks which adopted the sMTA
  are
• positive

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Final Remarks

• We should keep in mind that without flow of GR
• there is no flow of new varieties to meet the
  need of an ever growing world population
• there is no Benefit Sharing whatsoever
• It is up to this meeting to provide the
  guidelines which facilitate the exploitation of
  GR by creating a practical and workable IR. For
  the plant breeding sector we advice to extend the
  ITPGRFA for all plant breeding.

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Thank you for your attention!