KPKM TAKES CAUTIOUS, BALANCED APPROACH ON UPOV 1991

KUALA LUMPUR, March 4 (Bernama) --  The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (KPKM) is taking a cautious and balanced approach in determining its position on the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV 1991).

Deputy Minister Datuk Chan Foong Hin said the ministry will ensure any amendments to the Protection of New Plant Varieties Act 2004 (Act 634) to align it with UPOV 1991 remain in line with national interests.

He said UPOV 1991 does not impose an absolute ban on farmers saving, replanting or preparing seeds for their own use, as such practices can be allowed through exemptions under national laws.

“The ministry is committed to ensuring that the rights of smallholder farmers, including saving and reusing seeds for their own use, continue to be protected through exemption provisions under Act 634,” he said during the oral question-and-answer session in the Dewan Negara today.

Chan also stressed that protecting breeders’ rights would not create a seed monopoly, but would encourage the development of higher-quality plant varieties while allowing farmers a wider choice of seeds.

“Farmers are free to choose whether to use registered seeds that are protected or other seeds not subject to plant variety protection,” he said.

He was replying to a question from Senator Musoddak Ahmad on the government’s stance on implementing the latest version of UPOV and measures to safeguard local farmers from seed monopolies and price increases.

In a separate development, Chan said the ministry is strengthening the development of an integrated digital platform coordinated by the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA) to ensure subsidies reach actual producers without leakages.

He said the initiative, expected to be completed by mid-2026, aims to consolidate data on production, marketing, prices and supply movement from various agencies into a national data ecosystem.

“By integrating existing systems such as production databases, market monitoring systems and statistical portals, the government will be able to establish a more comprehensive digital trail of assistance and subsidy flows from the ministry to producers.” 

He said this in reply to a supplementary question from Musoddak on the government’s plans to introduce an independent audit on subsidy leakages to ensure public confidence does not rely solely on ministry reports.

-- BERNAMA