Page 96 - Daggabay Magazine Issue 9

Fields of Green for ALL • Collectively Reforming South African Cannabis Laws

Seed protection is an important issue in the Whilst South Africa is part of the Nagoya Protocol,
Cannabis industry and fortunately in 2013, from a practical point of view it is important that all
South Africa ratified the Nagoya Protocol on parties agree to act in an ethical and transparent
Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and manner, especially because small scale farmer
Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from communities are already considered vulnerable in
their Utilization (a Protocol to the Convention the Cannabis supply chain. Fields of Green for ALL has
on Biological Diversity). The Nagoya Protocol been made aware that there are cases of international
provides for measures to regulate and research organisations taking advantage of small scale
facilitate access and fair use of the indigenous rural farmers, by exploiting their landrace genetics
fauna and flora of a country, as well as their without adequate compensation or moral recognition.
associated traditional knowledge . Adopting Rural farmers are at risk of being excluded, unless all
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the Protocol provides greater legal certainty parties in the Cannabis supply chain comply with the
and transparency for communities that provide Nagoya Protocol’s principles and that legal contracts
and use genetic resources i.e. Cannabis seeds. are fair to all parties. It is for this reason that we
The Protocol strengthens the ability of small propose the Hub System in the following section
scale farmers and communities to benefit from (See Section 5.2.1), as part of our commercial pillar
the use of their knowledge, innovations and of our regulation model, which aims to protect and
practices , as well as facilitate the protection empower rural farmers, within the Nagoya Protocol
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against biopiracy. framework.

The Annexure of the Nagoya Protocol Lists All Monetary and Non-monetary
Benefits that Cannabis Farmers are Entitled to
moneTary beneFiTs non-moneTary beneFiTs
1. Monetary benefits may 2. Non-monetary benefits may include, but not be limited to:
include, but not be a. Sharing of research and development results
limited to: b. Collaboration, cooperation and contribution in scientific research and development
a. Access fees/fee per programmes, particularly biotechnological research activities, where possible, in the
sample collected or party providing genetic resources
otherwise acquired c. Participation in product development
b. Up-front payments d. Collaboration, cooperation and contribution in education and training
c. Milestone payments e. Admittance to ex situ facilities of genetic resources and to databases
d. Payment of royalties f. Transfer to the provider of the genetic resources of knowledge and technology under fair
e. Licence fees in case and favourable terms, including on concessional and preferential terms where agreed,
of commercialization in particular, knowledge and technology that make use of genetic resources, including
f. Special fees to biotechnology, or that are relevant to the conversation and sustainable utilization of
be paid to trust biological diversity
funds supporting g. Strengthening capacities for technology transfer
conversation and h. Institutional capacity building
sustainable use of i. Human and material resources to strengthen the capacities for the administration and
biodiversity enforcement of access regulations
g. Salaries and j. Training related to genetic resources with the full participation of countries providing
preferential terms genetic resources, and where possible, in such countries
where mutually
agreed k. Access to scientific information relevant to conservation and sustainable use of biological
h. Research funding diversity, including biological inventories and taxonomic studies
i. Joint ventures l. Contributions to local economy
j. Joint ownership of m. Research directed towards priority needs, such as health and food security, taking into
account domestic uses of genetic resources from the party providing genetic resources
relevant intellectual
property rights n. Institutional and professional relationships that can arise from an access and benefit-
sharing agreement and subsequent collaborative activities
o. Food and livelihood security benefits
p. Social recognition
q. Joint ownership of relevant intellectual property rights

52 CANNABIS IN SOUTH AFRICA • THE PEOPLE’S PLANT • A Full-Spectrum Manifesto For Policy Reform