Against the grain? A historical institutional analysis of access governance of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture in Ethiopia

Abstract

Farmers' and breeders' access to a genetic diversity isessential for food system sustainability. The implementationof international agreements regulating access to plantgenetic resources for food and agriculture (PGRFA) variessubstantially between countries. Here, we examine whysome countries implement a restrictive access governanceregime, taking Ethiopia as a case. Drawing on commonstheory and historical institutional analysis, we analyzehistorical, political, and economic factors that have shapedEthiopia's access regime. Based on interviews with keyactors and stakeholders and document analysis, we identifythree overarching ideational and material factors that canexplain Ethiopia's current policy: (a) the influence ofnarratives about Ethiopia as a biodiversity treasure troveon the Ethiopian cultural identity; (b) the economicimportance of agriculture based on PGRFA with origin inthe country; and (c) the political influence of the geneticresource movement that promotes farmers' rights as acounter measure to stringent intellectual property rights(IPR), and on‐farm PGRFA management as complimentary toex situ conservation and formal seed system development.The Ethiopian case illustrates that countries' governance ofaccess to PGRFA must be understood in connection with, and not in isolation from, IPR regimes and the historical,political, and cultural role of PGRFA in the country inquestion.