Abstract

The development of commercial seed breeding, separate from farming, has resulted in putting itno jeopardy the livelihoods of traditional, small-scale subsistence driven farmers. These commercial seed breeders are protected by intellectual property rights which have resulted in granting monopoly privileges to a handful of firms around the globe, in stark contrast to the lack of concrete rights available to traditional farmers. This thesis explores a framework within the human right to food for Farmers' Rights, and analyses whether farmers as producers of food can be considered a component of the right to food and further to what extent this would make a difference when considered under the World Trade Organization's dispute settlement body. It attempts to provide Farmers' Rights with visibility within the international community along the lines of the world attention paid to patents and the right to health which eventually resulted in the Doha Declaration

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