Regulatory Barriers to Innovative Plant Breeding in Canada.

Area of Science:

• Agricultural Science
• Biotechnology Law
• Plant Breeding

Background:

• Plant breeding regulation faces scrutiny due to rapid advancements in gene editing and new breeding technologies.
• Existing regulatory frameworks, like Canada's established in the early 1990s, struggle to keep pace with scientific progress.
• Genome editing is globally utilized in both public and private research, creating uncertainty in regulatory oversight.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess Canadian plant breeders' perceptions of the regulatory framework for conventional breeding and genome editing techniques.
• To investigate the impact of Canada's regulatory system on the competitiveness of crop research and the adoption of novel plant traits.
• To contribute to the discussion on regulating products derived from genome-edited plant breeding.

Main Methods:

• A survey was conducted among 93 public and private plant breeders in Canada.
• The survey focused on their views regarding the existing Canadian regulatory framework for plants with novel traits (PNTs).
• Analysis quantified the perceived impacts of regulatory novelty on innovation and competitiveness.

Main Results:

• Canadian plant breeders perceive the current regulatory system as an innovation barrier for genome editing technologies.
• This barrier particularly affects the development of new plant varieties in the public research sector.
• The study quantifies the impact of regulatory novelty on Canada's crop research competitiveness.

Conclusions:

• Canada's regulatory system, established in the 1990s, constrains advances in plant breeding technology, especially genome editing.
• There is a significant innovation barrier for applying genome editing in developing new plant varieties, notably in public research.
• The findings underscore the need to re-evaluate PNT regulations to foster innovation in plant breeding.