The Battle Over Seeds in Latin America: The Legal Siege and People’s Response

Current discussions on intellectual property and free trade agreements are merely an update of a persistent strategy: attempts by agribusiness to appropriate seeds through regulations or laws governing their circulation, sale, and use. In the recent context, these mechanisms have regained strength through international agreements that are reshaping the agricultural system to the industry’s advantage.

For years, various governments have promoted regulations that, under the promise of “regulating” seed trade, have ultimately harmed the traditional practices of farmers. By introducing control criteria over plant varieties and management procedures, these regulations consolidate a system that favors corporations and reduce the scope for farmers to use, save, and exchange seeds.

In parallel, farmers and Indigenous organisations have promoted legislative and regulatory initiatives aimed at safeguarding their knowledge and guaranteeing the free use of seeds. However, several of these proposals are disconnected from the reality on the ground in rural areas, either due to inadequate technical design or a failure to fully incorporate the needs of those who sustain agricultural diversity.