How "Open Source" Seed Producers From the US to India Are Changing Global Food Production

"The Open Source Seed Initiative, inspired by 'the free and open source software movement that has provided alternatives to proprietary software,' was created to ensure that some plant varieties and genes will remain free from intellectual property rights and available for plant breeders in perpetuity. As part of the initiative, commonly known as OSSI, U.S. breeders can take a pledge that commits the seeds they produce to remain available for others to use for breeding in the future.

That doesn't mean they can't build a business with or sell them. What the pledge does is allow farmers who buy seeds from an open-source breeder to cross them with other material to breed their own varieties and save them for future seasons -- two things many crop patents forbid. Dozens of breeders and seed companies have committed to OSSI since the initiative's launch in 2014."