1. Peter Button Vice Secretary-General, UPOV
Workshop on Innovative Solutions to Boost Sustainable Food Production
Agricultural Research and Innovation:
the particular case of
Plant Breeding
Peter Button Vice Secretary-General, UPOV
WFO General Assembly, Livingstone May 4, 2016

2. PREVIEW Why do we need to encourage plant breeding?
How is plant breeding supported?

3. Who needs plant breeders?
(Photo: iStockphoto.com/monkeybusinessimages)

4. Bernard Le Buanec, Second World Seed Conference (Rome, September 2009)

6. EU: 2000-2013 Additional agricultural GDP amounts to EUR 8.2 billion:
Wheat: EUR 3.1 billion
Corn (Maize) EUR 0.9 billion
Pulses EUR 0.2 billion
Without plant breeding:
EU would have moved from being net EXPORTER to net IMPORTER in all major agricultural crops (including wheat and barley)

7. EU: 2000-2013 Without plant breeding:
An additional 18 million ha of arable land outside the EU would be needed: equivalent to the arable land of…

9. Canola Yves Lespinasse Glucosinolate content LEAR: Low Erucic Acid
SEMINAR ON PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION AND TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER: THE BENEFITS OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP
Yves Lespinasse
Glucosinolate content
from 100 µmoles (‘Jetneuf’) to 12 µmoles (‘Samouraï’)
LEAR: Low Erucic Acid
HOLLI: High Oleic and Low Linolenic
Canola

10. World Total Canola Production

11. PREVIEW Why do we need to encourage plant breeding?
How is plant breeding supported?

12. Lodging
Height
Earliness
Resistance to sprouting
Mildew
Yellow rust
Brown rust
Septoria nodorum
Septoria tritici
Eyespot
Fusarium ear blight
Orange wheat blossom midge
Yield: treated/untreated
Yield: early sown/late sown
Yield: light soil/heavy soil
Breadmaking quality
Biscuit making quality
Feed quality

13. Plant breeding is long and expensive
BUT
Plant varieties can be easily and quickly reproduced
Breeders need protection to recover investment

14. UPOV MISSION STATEMENT
“To provide and promote an effective system of plant variety protection, with the aim of encouraging the development of new varieties of plants, for the benefit of society”

15. UPOV MISSION STATEMENT
“To provide and promote an effective system of plant variety protection (PVP), […]”
Plant Breeder’s Right (PBR)

17. (Photo: iStockphoto.com/VladTeodor)
(Photo: iStockphoto.com/luoman)

18. (Photo: BSPB)
(Illustration: iStockphoto.com/Cory Thoman)

20. BREEDERS NEW VARIETIES FARMERS, GROWERS CONSUMERS INCOME
IMPROVED VARIETIES

21. Plant breeding targets
Farmer
Agronomic characteristics:
Yield
Pest & disease resistance Abiotic stress resistance Earliness
Market value

23. Plant breeding targets
Farmer
Logistics
Agronomic characteristics:
Yield
Pest & disease resistance Abiotic stress resistance Earliness
Market value
Harvestability
Transportability

24. Ecuador: gain without pain…

25. Plant breeding targets
Farmer
Logistics
Distributor
Agronomic characteristics:
Yield
Pest & disease resistance Abiotic stress resistance Earliness
Market value
Harvestability
Transportability
Earliness Storability
Appearance Price

27. Plant breeding targets
Farmer
Logistics
Distributor
Consumer
Agronomic characteristics:
Yield
Pest & disease resistance Abiotic stress resistance Earliness
Market value
Harvestability
Transportability
Earliness Storability
Appearance Price
Organoleptic (taste, sight, smell, touch) Convenience
Nutritional value
Price

29. BREEDERS NEW VARIETIES FARMERS, GROWERS CONSUMERS INCOME
IMPROVED VARIETIES

30. Initiating States (15) and Organization (1)
Members of UPOV (74)
Initiating States (15) and Organization (1)
States (23) and Organization (1) in contact with the UPOV Office
The boundaries shown on this map do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of UPOV concerning the legal status of any country or territory