Argentina moves toward UPOV 91: A key step to strengthen plant innovation

Argentina is moving toward a significant reform of its plant variety protection regime. In recent months, the National Government has publicly reaffirmed its commitment to promoting the country’s accession to the 1991 Act of the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV 91), together with the drafting of a new Seed Law compatible with that international treaty.

Argentina is currently a member of the 1978 Act of UPOV, a regime that has protected plant breeders for decades but is now insufficient in light of biotechnology, plant breeding, and new forms of agricultural innovation.

Accession to UPOV 91 would modernize the intellectual property system applicable to new plant varieties. The treaty strengthens breeders’ rights, broadens the scope of protection over propagating material and certain essentially derived varieties, and provides a more modern and predictable legal framework for those investing in research and development.

From an innovation perspective, approval of UPOV 91 could bring significant benefits to Argentina. A stronger protection system encourages investment in plant breeding programs, promotes the development of new varieties with higher yields, better quality, and greater resistance to diseases or climate change, and facilitates technology transfer from foreign companies and institutions into the country. It also provides greater legal certainty for both domestic and international breeders.

This modernization could also improve the competitiveness of Argentine agriculture by aligning its legislation with that of many countries that have already adopted UPOV 91 as the international standard for plant variety protection.

However, the initiative has also generated debate. Several agricultural producer organizations have expressed concern regarding the scope of breeders’ rights and the treatment of farmers’ own use of seeds, one of the most sensitive issues under the 1991 Act. Therefore, the legislative challenge will be to strike an appropriate balance between protecting innovation and addressing the needs of the productive sector.

Argentina is facing one of the most relevant reforms in recent years in the field of intellectual property applied to agriculture. If accession to UPOV 91 is completed, the country will take a significant step toward a more modern, predictable system of plant variety protection, aligned with international standards and capable of strengthening technological development and innovation in the agricultural sector.