May 16, 2014
A commercial dispute between the three largest players in the Australian peanut industry – the Peanut Company of Australia and independent shellers Crumptons and Clifton Trading – appears to have been resolved.
The dispute, which had included legal action launched by PCA, centred on access to new varieties of peanuts.
It revolved around Plant Breeders Rights (PBR) – the intellectual property rights which give a plant breeder exclusive control over seed and harvested material of a new plant variety – and the compulsory grower levy scheme which has partially funded a peanut breeding program led by PCA.
Last September, Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington and Agriculture Minister John McVeigh urged the parties to try mediation to resolve the dispute, which had threatened to split the industry.
PCA Chief Executive Officer John Howard told southburnett.com.au today the government-sponsored mediation had been a catalyst to clarifying a way forward.
He said the last signatures on the agreement had been signed yesterday.
Peanut growers were briefed on the history of the Australian Peanut Genetic Improvement Program, which had been at the heart of the dispute, at a field day held at the DAFF Kingaroy Research Station this morning.
Mr Howard said that prior to 2007 there had been two completely different programs running: a GRDC / DPI breeding program which was mainly focusing on breeding suitable dryland Virginia varieties; and PCA’s introduction program, focusing on importing Runner types for high-input areas.
However, in 2007 the then-DPI had decided it would no longer continue with its program.
“PCA took up running it,” Mr Howard said. “Without that, there would have been no breeding program in Australia.”
Funding was supplied by PCA (67.6pc), GRDC (22.6pc) and DAFF (9.8pc).
“All parties brought germplasm assets to this new program,” Mr Howard said.
The dispute arose over Plant Breeding Rights and growers’ access to varieties in this program.
However, a new five-year licence agreement has now been negotiated between PCA and Crumptons, and PCA and Clifton to resolve the tension.
The only exclusion will be a two-year period for any introduced variety commercially released that was part of the PCA program prior to July 2007.
PCA is recognised as the exclusive PBR licence holder for the international varieties it has licensed, as well as the GRDC / DAFF PBR (from the pre-2007 breeding program) and the post-2007 PCA/GRDC/DAFF program.
All growers will need to have a sub-licence agreement to grow any of the PBR varieties.
Shellers will have a sub-licence and can issue a licence to their growers.
Seed is not part of the licence agreement.
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