Comment by bluGill
5 hours ago
> So you are saying that these special hybrid seeds that are the first generation of combining two strains are the only ones that can perform well
Absolutely. The first generation of a hybrid seed will produce several times more than either traditional seeds or the second generation. You can't reasonably grow your own hybrid seeds as you need to keep your fields to grow those seeds well separated from any other fields.
Now not all plants can be hybridized, and even of those that can I won't state with confidence that all of them have that property. However Maize (corn in US) which is a major world crop does act like this.
> Such laws are in place to protect the IP of these special seed producers, to make their business model viable
Not exactly. There is some of that for sure, but there is also that if you are a seed producer you want to ensure your customers get your good seed and not counterfeit that looks just like yours (if you cannot examine cell DNA you can't tell the difference between a first generation hybrid and any other seed).
However the law was written is clearly too broad. It should protect the hybrid seeds - nobody wants any seed claimed as hybrid that isn't a first generation hybrid. However it shouldn't affect any traditionally saved seeds (though where hybrid is available nobody wants them except museums)
Also none of this is new knowledge. This was taught in my high school 30 years ago.
Did you go to high school in the country that made this law? In addition, how many farmers in that country get high school education?
From what I read getting grades 1-8 is common in Kenya, but the high school years of education drop off significantly with only around 40% of the population getting that education, and making an educated guess that would target city people more than those that would be farmers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_Kenya
If these agricultural facts were known well enough to be taught anywhere decades ago—especially to city kids who will go their whole lifetime without touching a cornfield—it seems reasonable to imagine that they’re well-known to the people whose lives and livelihoods depend on those facts. Formal education or not.
Apparently the difference between “the good kind” and “the crappy knockoff kind” is familiar (and valuable) enough to local farmers that it’s worth somebody’s time to fake the good kind. And the annoyance widespread enough that politicians see potential advantage in trying to regulate it.
Poor education doesn't make it new knowledge.
If anyone was taught this in highschool, it must have been established practice for decades at least.