Box 2-1. Timeline of genetic resource management.

10,000 years of agricultural history. Farmers as the generators & stewards of crop genetic resources (e.g conservation, selection, and management of open pollinated varieties)

1800s. Agricultural genetic resources-apart from plantation crops-not a policy issue, and valued and managed by farmers as a common good; First commercial seed companies (e.g., Sweden) and agricultural experiment stations in Germany and England; National school of agriculture founded in Mexico (1850s); Discoveries of Darwin and Mendel (rediscovered and applied in 1900 only). 1883 Paris Convention on patents (not applied to plants for a full century).

1910s. George Shull produces first hybrids (1916); Wheat rust resistance breeding program in India

1920s. First maize hybrids available; Vavilov collects crop genetic resources systematically and develops the concept of Centers of Diversity.

1930s. 1930 Plant Patent Act (USA) to cover plants that are reproduced asexually (e.g., apples and roses), excluding bacteria and edible roots and tubers (potato).

1940s. Bengal Famine 1943-1944; International Agricultural Research is conceived and funded; Rockefeller Foundation sets up research program on maize, wheat and beans with Mexican government. Breeder's rights laws develop in Europe.

1950s. Ford and Rockefeller Foundations place agricultural staff in developing countries. Mexico becomes self-sufficient in wheat as a result of plant breeding efforts. Watson and Crick describe the double helix structure of DNA and Coenberg discovers and isolates DNA polymerase which became the first enzyme used to make DNA in a test tube; Reinart regenerates plants from carrot callus culture-important techniques for genetic engineering. The National Seed Storage Laboratory (NSSI) was opened in USA.

1960s. South Asian subcontinent on the brink of famine. High Yielding Varieties (HYV) introduced. International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV, 1961) providing a sui generis protection to crop varieties with important exemptions for farmers and breeders. Establishment of IRRI, CIMMYT, IITA, CIAT. Crop Research and Introduction Center established by the FAO in Turkey for the study of regional germplasm.

1970s. Public inbred lines of maize disappear from USA. European Patent Convention states that plants and animals are not patentable. Further development of international agricultural research centers under the auspices of the CGIAR; IR8 (high-yielding semidwarf rice) grown throughout Asia. Hybrid rice introduced in China. First recombinant DNA organism by gene splicing. Genentech Inc founded and dedicated to products based on recombinant DNA technology. First international NGOs focus on the seed sector (FAFI). Technical meetings on genetic resources organized by FAO.

1980s. First patents granted to living organisms by US courts. Large scale mergers in the seed sector. International funding for R&D begins to decline. Methods developed for Participatory Variety Selection and Plant Breeding as new institutional arrangement for breeding for development. (1985). Establishment of the FAO Commission on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (CPGRFA) and the FAO-International Undertaking (IU-PGRFA): Legally non-binding undertaking that confirms a "heritage of mankind" principle over plant genetic resources and recognises Farmers' Rights. US EPA approved the release of the first GE tobacco plants.

1990s. Agrochemical, pharmaceutical, and seed companies merge into "life science" companies; Major technological advances (e.g., marker assisted breeding, gene shuffling, genetic engineering, rDNA Technology, and Apomixis); Share of HYV increases to 70% for wheat and rice in selected developing countries. Acceleration towards consolidation of seed industry with agrochemical companies as main investors. Introduction of first commercial transgenic crops (e.g., Calgene's "Flavr-Savr" tomato and herbicide and insect-tolerant crops); Gradual change in CIMMYT approach from selection in high input environments to include drought and nitrogen stress. Rate of funding of CGIAR stagnant-more NRM-focused centers established. Regions where agricultural R&D relies on donors are particularly hard-hit. IU-PGRFA recognizes national sovereignty over PGRFA in the wake of CBD. CBD as legally binding agreement among all countries (except USA and some tiny states in Europe) lays the foundation for bilateral negotiations over access and benefit sharing to genetic resources, including PGRFA. Cartagena Protocol seeks to regulate international movement of transgenics. Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) spurs a debate on plants and varieties in developing countries; European Patent Office moves to grant patents on plants (1999). UPOV 1978 treaty closed to new accessions. Latest UPOV Act prohibits farmers from sharing seed of protected varieties. Campaigns against strong IPRs in medical and agricultural research grow, notably against "terminator technology".

2000s. International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (IT-PGRFA) facilitating access and benefit sharing and defining Farmers' Rights; World Intellectual Property Organization member states set up an Intergovernmental Committee on Intellectual Property and Genetic Resources, Traditional Knowledge and Folklore. Developing countries join UPOV or develop their own sui generis protection (e.g., India, Thailand). Free Trade Agreements put pressure on developing countries for stronger than TRIPs protection. Over 180 transgenic crop events, involving 15 traits deregulated or approved in at least one of 27 countries. Top 10 companies control half of the world's commercial seed sales; however farmer-seed systems remain key source of seed. Nanotechnologies enter agricultural sciences.