Registration and protection of vegetables in Brazil between 1998 and 2014

ABSTRACT: This study aimed to realize a broad survey of the registry and protection numbers concerning different vegetables species in the Ministério da Agricultura Pecuária e Abastecimento - MAPA (Brazilian Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply) and to investigate the participation of public and private institutions. Therefore, 34 vegetable crops of economic and social importance were selected, these being divided into tuberous, herbaceous (leaves, flowers and stems) and fruits. Data for the study were obtained from the Registro Nacional de Cultivares - RNC (Brazilian National Register of Cultivars) and the Serviço Nacional de Proteção de Cultivares - SNPC (Brazilian National Service of Plant Variety Protection, available in real time the MAPA site. The survey was carried out between 1998 and 2014. We verified 7174 registry and 147 protections, tomato, Capsicum spp. (sweet and chili peppers), lettuce and melon presenting the highest number of records, while the potato and lettuce had the highest protection numbers. In relation to the participation of private and public institutions in the RNC and SPNC, there was a marked predominance of private institutions was observed, with 93.23 and 87.75%, respectively. The public sector obtained 226 registries and 18 protections, Embrapa (Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation) being highlighted with 57.22 and 72.22% of the registries and protections, respectively. Public-private partnerships have had little contribution in the generation of new cultivars. This result finds the lack of integration between the public and private sector, which should work in greater proportions jointly for achieving technological breakthroughs.