More and Better Choices for Farmers: Promoting Fair Competition and Innovation in Seeds and Other Agricultural Inputs

Report Conclusion: Farmers know that the key to resilience in agriculture is diversity. Farmers plant multiple varieties so that when one exhibits a weakness—to insects, or pests, or environmental conditions—other varieties can contribute to continued productivity. Consolidation in agriculture has resulted in less diversity at all levels of the value chain: today, fewer companies produce a larger share of inputs than ever before, including seeds and related technologies. While this consolidation might lead to greater theoretical efficiency in the food system, it can also lead to higher levels of vulnerability to disturbances. Seed systems combine aspects of both biological and human systems, and so can draw from research on resilience in both types of systems. Resilient systems typically have a degree of redundancy, diversity, decentralization and flexibility, meaning components are not so specialized that if one component fails the entire system goes down. In addition, the complexity and scope of the issues facing agriculture and food systems require a critical mass of people and infrastructure to adequately respond. The intersection of intellectual property and antitrust is complex, made even more so by the overlapping mechanisms that control how seed varieties and traits are developed, sold, and distributed. Helping all actors—including plant breeders, farmers, and seed companies—understand and engage with these systems provides a clear benefit to all who depend on the crops they grow. Many of the recommendations in this report will draw on the new Farmer Seed Liaison, an initiative that can help bridge the gaps and enhance transparency in a complicated environment. In doing so, it will help to foster more choices and increased innovation across crops and regions. In a time of increasing disruption, the American food system must find ways to increase its resilience. Promoting transparency, fair competition, and innovation among many actors in the seed system is the first step to accomplishing this goal.