PENAMPANG: Farmers and the Sabah indigenous peoples network are urging the government to not join the international framework that seeks to give commercial interests monopoly on seeds and crop varieties.
Doing so would affect more than 40,000 farmers across Sabah who grow a variety of crops such as rice, vegetables, fruits, spices, herbs and more.
Pacos Trust Director Anne Lasimbang said they are concerned about the action that the government will take through the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (KPKM) which is proposing to amend the Protection of New Plant Varieties Act 2004 (PNPV 2004) to align it with the UPOV Convention 1991 (International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants).
“The proposed move to amend PNPV Act 2004 in order to align it with the UPOV 1991 regime risks surrendering control of Sabah’s seeds.
“This will eventually affect Sabah’s food supply all in the name of corporate interests,” she said.
“It will limit it the rights of farmers in Sabah who have been saving, sharing and using their own seeds as a traditional practice if they join the international regime.”
Jaringan Orang Asal SeMalaysia (JOAS) and Partners of Community Organizations (PACOS Trust) are sounding the alarm.
And together with 16 endorsement from organisations, they launched a petition under the campaign banner #StopUPOV to build collective resistance and public awareness on the corporate initiative.
“JOAS and Pacos Trust call all Sabah political parties and candidates to publicly reject the proposed alignment of PNPV Act with UPOV 1991 to safeguard and to guarantee the continued rights of indigenous communities and small-time farmers in Sabah,” she said.
She reminded that if these amendments go through, the long-standing rights of indigenous communities and small-time farmers to save, share, exchange and sell seeds will be severely restricted and they can be sued for sharing and selling farm saved seeds.
She said once seed control is lost, food control would follow. And when food is controlled, people are controlled. This is not just a technical legal change but it is a direct threat to food sovereignty and cultural identity.
Nurfitri Amir Muhammad from Forum Kedaulatan Makanan Malaysia said, UPOV 1991 is designed to protect commercial breeders and seed corporations, not the communities who have protected biodiversity for generations.
“It dismantles traditional seed exchange systems that are vital for survival, especially in rural Sabah and Sarawak and Malaysia as a whole where farmers depend on seed sharing to maintain agrobiodiversity, respond to climate shifts and recover from shortages.”
“Under UPOV rules, farmers may only reuse certain seeds on their own land and are prohibited from sharing seeds with neighbouring villages,” he said.
This fundamentally contradicts Indigenous communal practices and threatens the resilience of rural communities.
Anjelen Darangun from Kokoriu Seed Bank said that in her village in Tamparuli, there are more than 100 farmers depend on the seeds they save and share. If that right is taken away, they will not be able to plant independently because they will have to buy seeds from a corporate.
Explaining further on UPOV Nurfitri said, what is more alarming is the proposed removal of key provisions under Section 12 of the current PNPV Act of the Malaysian law.
Section 12 requires disclosure the method of development, source of genetic material prior written consent of local community for traditional varieties, compliance with access to resources law, and compliance with law regulating GMOs.
“Removing these protections will opens the door to biopiracy, enabling corporations to take seeds from Indigenous communities, develop new varieties, register them under the Plant Breeder’s Right and then sell them back to the very communities who nurtured them.
“This is like legalizing theft of Indigenous heritage and directly undermines the Sabah Biodiversity Enactment 2000, which exists to protect community rights and Sabah’s genetic resources,” he said.
Sabah’s agricultural identity is rooted in diversity, community sharing, and local seed autonomy.
The UPOV 1991 model replaces this with dependency on commercial seed systems, monoculture production, and increased vulnerability to market and climate shocks.
Anne said, they refuse to allow Sabah’s future to be shaped by foreign seed corporations and commercial pressure at the expense of Indigenous and local farmers who are the true custodians of our land.
“JOAS and PACOS Trust call upon all Sabah political parties and candidates to publicly reject the proposed alignment of the PNPV Act with UPOV 1991.”
“We want to defend the safeguards of Section 12 including compliance with the Sabah Biodiversity Enactment 2000 and to guarantee the continued rights of Indigenous communities and small farmers to save, exchange, and sell farm-saved seeds.”
Anne said, this is a matter of sovereignty and survival, not partisanship. Every household in Sabah depends on food. If seed control is lost, food prices rise, diversity declines, and cultural food systems disappear.
“Our seeds are not for sale. Our heritage is not for sale. Our right to food, identity and sovereignty is not negotiable,” she added.
Her statement has also been endorsed by Sarawak Dayak Iban Association (SADIA), Center for Orang Asli Concerns (COAC), SAVE Rivers, Borneo Comrade,
Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM), NTFP-EP, Kokoriu, Forum Kedaulatan Makanan Malaysia (FKMM) and Pace A Voi.
