La Concentración Corporativa en la Industria de Semillas Hortícolas

In the process of capitalism's incursion into agriculture, the control of seeds plays a vital role, since it is the beginning of the productive process. However, turning the seed into a commodity presents some difficulties: the first is that the seed is a living being that can be saved and reproduced infinitely, on the other hand, since the beginning of agriculture, cultural practices of conservation, improvement and free exchange of seeds have been developed. In addition, seeds carry genetic information that is directly linked not only to the ecological conditions of production and reproduction, but also to the history of cultural practices and social exchange relationships. In order to overcome these obstacles, the seed industry developed legal and technological strategies throughout the 20th century. Legal strategies include tightening of intellectual property rules, compulsory registration and certification of seeds, phytosanitary measures and contracts (between companies and consumers of genetic material).