Counterfeiting is aggressively sprouting up in the seed business. Now, three companies provide solutions that may prevent the costs of protecting IP rights, breeding rights and R&D investments from being passed on to consumers.

Fake currency, credit cards and software. Fraudulent art, auto parts and pharmaceuticals. As if these weren’t enough, today’s brand owners now also have to battle counterfeit seeds! Yes, due to globalization of the agriculture, identity theft and fraud have crept into farms and orchards. In many countries like China, seed counterfeiting is very common and seed companies have to take strict precautions – like 24-hour security around seed nurseries – to protect seed inbreds from being stolen and sold commercially.

Fortunately, three companies have stepped up to the plate to provide technology solutions to fight seed counterfeiters.

ProTag, from Germain’s Technology Group, protects seeds, seed treatments and packaging with the ProTag security coating polymer. The system consists of a tagged polymer and dedicated reader, using NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) technology. The coated objects radiate a specific radio frequency (RF) and a reading device measures this specific RF re-emission and acknowledges or denies the presence of a taggant. The ProTage solution is:

• Chemically inert and therefore safe for both seeds and the environment
• Durable and stable, enabling detection in all situations (on the seed, through bags, in seed furrow, etc.)
• Secure, providing a globally patented electronic fingerprint that allows no reverse engineering
• Immediate, providing a quick YES or NO reading in the warehouse, on trucks, on the farm or field for complete traceability

Labels for seed security, made by Latent Image Technologies (LIT) in Israel, provide seed manufacturing companies with a unique solution to eliminate the problems associated with counterfeiting and grey market trading. Labels with inherent security features are applied to each pack of seeds. Each label contains hidden images of the company’s logo and other coded information, which is only visible through a polarizing lens. Three designs represent the geographical distribution areas to simplify package tracking. The polarizing lenses are packed with the seed cartons so that farm cooperatives can verify the authenticity of their purchases.

ASTEC American Seed Technology offers a unique, low-cost and highly effective range of products to protect seeds against counterfeiting that goes under “MarQ”. The options depend on the requirements for volumes, level of security and company policies and can be used solely or combined for more comprehensive protection:

• MarQ P or “packaging marker” works for different types of packaging material; pointing with a remote control-like device to the packaging material will trigger a sound signal if the material was treated.
• MarQ X or “exclusive seed bag marker” treats the seed in the seed bag with a marker polymer that is designed so that larger quantities of seeds packed together will trigger sound; however, it cannot guarantee 100 percent protection on a seed by seed level.
• MarQ XS or “exclusive seed marker” – The XS-marker polymer provides accurate
• protection on a seed by seed basis, equal longevity to the life of the seed’s pericarp, and guaranteed identification as long as part of the pericarp is retrieved in the field.
• MarQ V or “Seed-Unique Range Enhanced (SURE) marker” – The V-marker polymer provides a complex light emitting tagging system, viewable only with the Illuminator (a custom-made light detection device). It identifies a seed by evaluating light points on the seeds pericarp and allows coding of production years, lines of hybrids, male/female distinction, and geographical area.

Just how important are these technologies?

According to ASTEC, intellectual property rights, breeding rights, research and development costs directly drive seed quality and yields that will determine the world food situation. These technologies are making sure that these rights are protected.