Technoscientific Impact of Agriculture on Farmers' Seed Sovereignty

The technoscientific transformation in the agriculture sector has significantly altered the traditional seed system that has profoundly affected the rights of the farmers. The evolution of biotechnology including genetically modified crops, gene editing, hybrid seeds protected under the Intellectual Property regime has reshaped the farmers right to seed sovereignty, sharing, saving and exchanging practices. In the Global South, there exist a wide spectrum of conflict between the technological advancement and the rights of farmers. In light of the above perspective, by tracing the historical shift from community based traditional seed knowledge to corporate based seed and patent technologies, this chapter critically analyzes the innovation perspective that undermined the indigenous practices and farmer led initiatives concerning seed sovereignty. Therefore, this chapter calls for a rights based and inclusive approach towards the agricultural innovation that safeguards seed diversity and traditional knowledge.