Formal plant breeding leads to the development of uniform varieties that can be used by many farmers.

Where GURT-protected (uniform) varieties reSeed Policy 99 place genetically diverse landraces, genetic erosion in the farmers fields will be the result. Option When uniform varieties are better for farmers than their diverse landraces, it will not be possible to force them to produce landrace varieties. The main option is then to conserve the diversity in genebanks. Diversity can be supported, however through well-targeted programmes of breeding for diversity (Cooper et al., 2001). This requires a significant public investment (see above). Concern Farmers using GURT technology become completely dependent on seed suppliers, which is particularly risky in monopolistic seed markets. GURTs may well reinforce the concentration and integration trends in the seed industry and invite misuse of monopoly power. Option Very important in the current trends of concentration in the seed industry are effective antitrust legislation and antitrust institutions in developing countries and at the international level. This concern also warrants an active stimulus to create small-scale seed enterprises. Antitrust regulations may be very difficult to implement, especially in small developing countries. Experiences in seed enterprise development in such countries, on the other hand, are increasing (Kugbei et al., 2000).