Episode 7 of 21: The End Point Royalty in soybeans

‘We’ve bean around the block’ host Antony Jarvie interviews John Odendaal about the End Point Royalty system, now in its third collection season in South Africa for soybean grain. John is the National Marketing manager for the Pannar brand of seed, and as such has been instrumental in positioning the company to accommodate this form of revenue collection. In South Africa, the EPR is in fact a statutory levy imposed on grain deliveries that has the aim of compensating institutions for cultivar development and trait deployment. A defined portion of the levy is ear-marked for transformation projects within the industry. Legislation allows for farmers to retain grain for the purposes of planting on their own farms, and the soybean industry has historically been characterized high levels (in excess of 80%) of farm-saved-seed. This has negatively impacted cultivar development and new technology deployment, so the EPR was implemented to correct this. The revenue collected is apportioned to the companies based on cultivar market share. The market share is determined by a formula based on certified seed sales, farmer declaration and genetic fingerprinting. John and Antony discuss how the EPR has impacted the producer, the processor and the seed business. Of course, the question is asked ‘Has the EPR had the desired effect?’ This is answered with evidence of reduced seed prices, increased company involvement, improved cultivar registration and confirmation of a number of new traits in the process of de-regulation.

For those who would like to hear about a similar system in operation in Australia, listen to Hanna Senior’s podcast interview with Tress Walmsley https://soundcloud.com/user-528708317-524990744/s2e5-plant-breeding-stories-tress-walmsley