The Brazilian Seed Law and its impacts on agrobiodiversity and on local and traditional agricultural systems

Abstract

The article makes a critical analysis of the impacts of the Brazilian Seed Law (10.711/2003) on agricultural biodiversity and on traditional and local agriculture. The above-mentioned law caters to the needs and interests of 'formal' seed systems, and does not consider the important role played by local and traditional seed systems (frequently called 'informal'), in which the production, exchange, breeding and conservation of seeds are carried out by the farmers themselves, through their social networks and according to local rules. 'Formal' seed systems tend to focus mainly on crops of commercial value, and widely used in homogeneous environments. Therefore, they are not interested in producing seeds that are adapted to specific local conditions and uses, nor in attending the needs of local and traditional farmers, which have limited resources and live in regions that are culturally and environmentally heterogeneous.