Factors that govern ownership, access, and use of public trust crop germplasm and their impact on public welfare: Illustrated by the policies and practices of the Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), Mexico

Germplasm is a necessary input for food crop production and therefore vital to anti-hunger programs. The major portion of crop germplasm is stored in genebanks, around the world, under the auspices of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR). Various international agreements, for example, the International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources (IUPGR), the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade and its Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (GATT-TRIPS), stipulate the terms of ownership, access, and use of these ex situ collections. Genetic engineering and intellectual property rights issues, associated with genetic modification, have impacted how these collections are utilized and have affected how the international scientific community interacts. This dissertation examines these inter-related issues and through qualitative inquiry, with actual interviews of employees, into one CGIAR center and genebank, analyzes its current practice. CIMMYT has the largest ex situ collection of maize and wheat germplasm held in public trust. Results from this research support certain conclusions, and germplasm governance and policy changes are recommended.