Tackling illegal seed trade: Bayer and ISF join coalition to combat counterfeiting

04 Jun 2024 --- A coalition of plant breeders, companies and organizations have joined forces to fight against the illicit trade of seeds which reduce quality, crop yield, impact farmers and even pose health risks. A host of stakeholders, including the International Seed Federation (ISF), Bayer and Crop Science Life, come together to tackle the illicit seed trade in what is being hailed as an “historic agreement.” 

Illegal seed practices cover a range of activities like counterfeit seeds, fraudulent labeling, intellectual property (IP) infringements, regulatory offenses, trademark infringements and thefts of proprietary material.

Thirteen organizations representing and defending the interests of global plant breeders will collaborate in the fight against illegal seed practices through a recent deal. The agreement has been a long time in the making, but the scope of how seed fraud will be tackled in different geographies is still to be determined.

“ISF is pleased that, after months of discussions, the MoU on action against illegal seed practices with the partners has been signed. The run-up to this moment was intense, and we do not take such an agreement between multiple actors for granted. Together, we are now working on an action plan to implement this MoU, Szonja Csörgő, legal affairs and intellectual property manager at ISF, tells Food Ingredients First.

Counterfeit seeds can deteriorate the quality of the produce.Participating organizations react
The MoU is a welcome step in addressing fraudulent practices in the seed industry.

Virginia Lee, director of communications at CropLife International (CLI), a trade association representing the world’s leading R&D companies — BASF, Bayer, among others — says: “The fight against illegal seed practices is a key priority for CropLife International and its member companies, and the signing of this MoU by seed associations under the auspices of ISF is a key milestone for CLI and its members.”

“When tackling global issues that stand in the way of food security and agricultural resilience, we’re stronger together. This MoU underlines the strong cooperation between CropLife International, ISF and the seed associations. We’re looking forward to working with all partners to discuss actions and priorities to further enable that this issue is addressed effectively at the policy level.”

Leading crop science company Bayer extends support for the agreement in a statement: 

“Bayer is fully supportive of the MoU signed by the International Seed Federation. We are a major agricultural supplier, and while financially and reputationally impacted by counterfeit activities, including illegal seed practices, we are most concerned about farmers who are hit the hardest through inferior and fake seeds that impact their livelihoods.”

Whom does illicit seed trade impact?
A spokesperson for the company highlights the impact of such practices on Bayer’s financial reports: “Counterfeit and otherwise illegal products are often of poor quality and, therefore, compromise sustainable agriculture, trust in our brand and damage to our bottom line.”

“Counterfeit seeds can dramatically reduce the crop yield and deteriorate the quality of the produce, leading to a complete loss of the harvest.”

Mapping the scale of the economic cost of illegal trade in the food sector, a newly published WTO report states: “Although the global cost of fraud to the food industry is difficult to determine given the clandestine nature of the activity, annual estimates are in the range of US$30–50 billion (which does not include losses associated with illicit trade in alcoholic beverages).”

Illicit seed trade affects various actors in the value chain such as farmers, growers, plant breeders, and consumers.Csörgő elaborates on the scope and impact of illicit seed trade on the seed sector, comprising various actors in the value chain like farmers, growers and consumers. 

“One of the biggest risks of illegal seed practices is that illegal seeds enter the marketplace without any official control, which means that they are often of lower quality and may pose risks to plant and human health,” Csörgő explains.

According to the WTO report, fraudsters within the global seed supply chain often escape suspicion, but the fallout from their activities extends beyond economic loss. 

“Buying a bag of seeds with a falsified seed certificate may bring low-quality material for a farmer and lead to complete crop failure that season, compromising the farmer’s livelihood and source of income,” Csörgő adds.

“But this bag of lower-quality illegal seed with the falsified label may also have been treated with plant protection products, not in line with prescribed protocols, which may even lead to animal and human health risks.”

Intellectual property rights
Ignacio Giacchi, managing director at Anti-Infringement Bureau for IP Rights on Plant Material (AIB), one of the signatories, says many players in the value chain have skirted the issue of illegal seed practices and intellectual property enforcement.

“It was just a buzzkill. Getting these many organizations to come together for the signing of an MoU to curb illegal seed practices is a big political statement. Things won’t change overnight, but nothing is going to be the same. The AIB will surely see to it that change is achieved through this MoU,” he tells Food Ingredients First. 

The MoU provides a legal cooperation framework for signatories to address two kinds of irregularities: private law, which covers IP and public law, which concerns regulatory offenses.

“For private law, IP is a tool to combat any party who engages in illegal seed practices such as (unauthorized): vegetative propagation of tomato plants, seed reproductions of open pollinated seeds, counterfeit packaging and theft of parental lines,” explains Giacchi.

“Our job now is to work out the various action plans that will shape up the spirit of the MoU. Such actions could encompass specialized training for enforcement authorities and players in the value chain, mechanisms for banning infringers from participating in our trading floors.”

Illegal seed practices may vary across geographies and among crops.Role of agri-food businesses
Agri-food businesses have a significant role in the crackdown on illegal seed practices, especially in safeguarding innovations in the agricultural and horticultural industries. Giacchi says: “One of the main vulnerabilities in the seed sector is that nature is a perfect copying machine, and it requires little capital investment.”

“IP protection is a tool to foster innovation. Breeding companies need to protect their new varieties, authorities should set out rules for enforcing these rights with relative ease, and players in the value chain should refrain from engaging in illegal reproduction.”

One of the MoU’s core principles is raising awareness against fraudulent seed trade. Csörgő says companies need to focus on “internal awareness-raising, especially among their commercial staff, so they know what is happening, what to pay attention to, how to act in case of infringements, and how to prevent cases in the future.”

“Food businesses must ensure that the products they use or sell come from legal sources. To ensure this, traceability systems and close collaboration with upstream actors in the value chain are key,” she concludes.

By Anvisha Manral