Impact of Intellectual Property Rights over Food Security in Developing and Least Developed Countries

The impact of intellectual property rights (IPRs) over various sectors of the world have been increasing since the adoption of the 1994 Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). While IPRs acts as a stimulator for innovation of new technologies, the wide-scale introduction of IPRs for diverse kinds of innovation does not equally benefit all countries of the world. For instance, the introduction of IPRs over agro-biotechnological innovation has created some food security concerns for developing and least developed countries. While three-quarters of the global population who live below the poverty line are dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods, it is presumed that the use of patents on plant genetic resources may jeopardize food security in the southern world. This paper figures out the nature of the relation between the inclusion of IPRs in agro-biotechnology and food security in the southern world consisting of developing and least developed countries. Accordingly, the paper manifests the precise impacts of the introduction of IPRs in agro-biotechnology innovation and their consequences on food security in the low or medium-income developing and least developed countries