Dr Kamalesh Adhikari
Honorary Research Senior Fellow & Senior Research Fellow
Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation
Researcher biography
Dr Kamalesh Adhikari is Senior Research Fellow with the ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Uniquely Australian Foods and Associate Research Fellow with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Plant Success in Nature and Agriculture at the The University of Queensland. His current research focusses on socio-legal issues and concerns associated with the collection, use, and circulation of native and indigenous plants, including traditional knowledge. At the ARC Centre, he leads research on native title law and coordinates the development of relationships and agreements between several partners, involving plant scientists, industry stakeholders, and Indigenous partners and communities. He is also a research partner in the Research Council of Norway and the Fridtjof Nansen Institute's Suitable Seeds Project which explores the role that intellectual property has played in shaping the history and practices of gene and seed banks. Dr Adhikari is also undertaking a critical account of the concept of farmers' rights in intellectual property law. Dr Adhikari previously worked as an AIBE Research Fellow at the Australian Institute of Business and Economics (AIBE) and as Research Director at South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment. He has undertaken collaborative research with a number of institutions including Consumers International and the Southeast Asian Council for Food Security and Fair Trade (Malaysia), United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (Italy and Nepal), Fridtjof Nansen Institute and the Development Fund (Norway), International Development Research Centre and International Institute for Sustainable Development (Canada), Sustainable Development Policy Institute (Pakistan), Consumer Unity and Trust Society and Green Foundation (India), Oxfam Novib and Wageningen University (The Netherlands), United Nations Development Programme (Nepal and Sri Lanka), and Institute of Policy Studies and Law and Society Trust (Sri Lanka).
Publications
Book
Adhikari, Kamalesh (2008). Intellectual Property Rights in Agriculture: Legal Mechanisms to Protect Farmers' Rights in Nepal. Kathmandu, Nepal: PRO PUBLIC and SAWTEE.
Book Chapters
Adhikari, Kamalesh (2020). What does it mean to protect farmers’ varieties as intellectual property?. Intellectual property law and plant protection: challenges and developments in Asia. (pp. 177-205) edited by Kamalesh Adhikari and David J. Jefferson. Abingdon, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780429059520-10
Perera, Asanka and Adhikari, Kamalesh (2020). From neglect to protection: recognising the importance of farmers’ varieties in Sri Lanka. Intellectual property law and plant protection: challenges and developments in Asia. (pp. 161-176) edited by Kamalesh Adhikari and David J. Jefferson. Abingdon, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780429059520-9
Rana, Muhammad Ahsan and Adhikari, Kamalesh (2020). Policy, politics, and implications of Pakistan’s Plant Breeders’ Rights Act. Intellectual property law and plant protection: challenges and developments in Asia. (pp. 104-123) edited by Kamalesh Adhikari and David J. Jefferson. Abingdon, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780429059520-6
Adhikari, Kamalesh and Jefferson, David J. (2020). Intellectual property law for plant varieties: challenges and developments in Asia. Intellectual property law and plant protection: challenges and developments in Asia. (pp. 1-11) edited by Kamalesh Adhikari and David J. Jefferson. Abingdon, United Kingdom: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9780429059520-1
Lawson, Charles and Adhikari, Kamalesh (2018). Biodiversity, genetic resources and intellectual property. Biodiversity, genetic resources and intellectual property: developments in access and benefit sharing. (pp. 1-8) edited by Charles Lawson and Kamalesh Adhikari. New York, NY United States: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315098517-1
Adhikari, Kamalesh (2018). Reconceptualizing access: moving beyond the limits of international biodiversity laws. Biodiversity, genetic resources and intellectual property: developments in access and benefit sharing. (pp. 9-32) edited by Charles Lawson and Kamalesh Adhikari. New York, NY United States: Routledge. doi: 10.4324/9781315098517-2
Adhikari, Kamalesh (2015). Regional seed bank and material transfer arrangements in South Asia. Making growth inclusive, just and sustainable in South Asia. (pp. 147-153) edited by Abid Suleri and Vaqar Ahmed. Islamabad, Pakistan: Sustainable Development Policy Institute.
Tone, Winge, Adhikari, Kamalesh and Andersen, Regine (2013). Advocacy for farmers’ rights in Nepal. Realising farmers’ rights to crop genetic resources: success stories and best practices. (pp. 181-194) edited by Regine Andersen and Tone Winge. Abingdon, United Kingdom: Routledge.
Paudyal, Bikash, Adhikari, Kamalesh, Shrestha, Pitambar and Tamang, Bir (2012). Nepal: innovative mechanisms for putting farmers’ rights into practice. The custodians of biodiversity: sharing access and benefit sharing of genetic resources. (pp. 135-162) edited by Manuel Ruiz and Ronnie Vernooy. London, United Kingdom: Earthscan.
Journal Articles
Adhikari, Kamalesh, Sherman, Brad, Marrie, Henrietta, Sultanbawa, Yasmina and Chen, Gengning (2024). Indigenous peoples’ rights should be recognized and strengthened to boost food innovation research. Nature Food, 5 (10), 802-804. doi: 10.1038/s43016-024-01051-5
Jefferson, David James and Adhikari, Kamalesh (2021). Intellectual property, traditional knowledge, and native biodiversity: convention and progression in the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Pandora's Box, 27 (2021) 7, 98-113.
Adhikari, Kamalesh, Bikundo, Edwin, Chacko, Xan, Chapman, Susannah, Humphries, Fran, Johnson, Hope, Keast, Evan, Lawson, Charles, Malbon, Justin, Robinson, Daniel, Rourke, Michelle, Sanderson, Jay and Tranter, Kieran (2021). What should farmers’ rights look like? The possible substance of a right. Agronomy, 11 (2) 367, 1-19. doi: 10.3390/agronomy11020367
Adhikari, Kamalesh (2020). Governance of intellectual property over plant varieties: Time has come for Asia to revisit its unique approach. Trade Insight, 16 (1-2), 46-49.
Jefferson, David J. and Adhikari, Kamalesh (2019). Reimagining the relationship between food sovereignty and intellectual property for plants: lessons from Ecuador and Nepal. The Journal of World Intellectual Property, 2019 (5-6) jwip.12134, 1-23. doi: 10.1111/jwip.12134
Pandey, Posh Raj and Adhikari, Kamalesh (2009). Food security agenda for South Asia: Amid regional challenges and global crises. Trade Insight, 5 (1) 6, 16-19.
Adhikari, Kamalesh (2009). Seeding disaster. Himal South Asian (3), 23-29.
Conference Papers
Wijngaarden, Clare, Adhikari, Kamalesh and Smyth, Heather Eunice (2024). Consumer responses to Australian native food products: expectations, assumptions, and realities. 22nd World Congress of Food Science and Technology, Rimini, Italy, 8-12 September 2024.
Wijngaarden, Clare, Jacob, Sera Susan, Adhikari, Kamalesh and Smyth, Heather Eunice (2024). Effects of product experience and information on consumer attitudes and purchase motivation for Australian wattleseed. NZOZ Sensory and Consumer Science Symposium, Sydney, NSW Australia, 7-9 February 2024.
Adhikari, Kamalesh (2023). Ethical and legal considerations in research with Indigenous peoples and plants. ARC Training Centre for Australian Wine Production Workshop, Adelaide, SA Australia, 20 November 2023. University of Adelaide.
Adhikari, Kamalesh (2023). Native Title law restrictions for Indigenous peoples and scientific research: when the cure kills!. The Annual Meeting of the ARC Training Centre for Uniquely Australian Foods, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 26 October 2023.
Adhikari, Kamalesh (2023). The Plant Treaty: rethinking the scope and role of the Multilateral System, Annex 1 and Standard Material Transfer Agreement. People, Plants, and the Law Conference, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 25 October 2023.
Adhikari, Kamalesh (2023). The challenges of accessing and researching indigenous plants: an empirical investigation within and beyond the remits of Australian Access and Benefit Sharing laws. The Global Bioeconomy Alliance Conference, Brisbane, QLD Australia, 28 September 2023.
Adhikari, Kamalesh (2022). The control and freedom of seed banks. TROPAG International Agriculture Conference, Brisbane, QLD, Australia, 31 October - 2 November 2022.
Adhikari, Kamalesh (2022). Landraces and Indigenous Plants: The Question of Legal Categories and Protection . Sixth Scientific Meeting on Exploring the World of Crop Landraces, Greece, 1 June 2022. The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.
Chen, Gengning, Cozzolino, Daniel, Netzel, Michael E., Olarte Mantilla, Sandra, Adhikari, Kamalesh and Sultanbawa, Yasmina (2021). Nutritional quality and food functionality of Pleiogynium timoriense fruit. Joint virtual Workshop between The ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Uniquely Australian Foods (ARC ITTC UAF), Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI), The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia and The SARChI Research Programme in Phytochemical Food Network to Improve the Nutritional Quality for Consumers, Tshwane University of Technology, Pretoria, South Africa, Virtual, 24-25 August 2021.
Adhikari, Kamalesh (2020). Questions and concerns about the protection of farmers' varieties. Farmers Rights and the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (Webinar II), Online, 14 September 2020. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, The Plant Treaty Secretariat and the University of Aberdeen .
Adhikari, Kamalesh (2016). History, Growth and Implications of Formal Seed System in Nepal. South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment, Kathmandu, Nepal, 2016.
Newspaper Article
Adhikari, Kamalesh (2019, 12 24). Intellectual property and plant protection: developments and challenges in Asia Southviews 1-4.
Seminar Papers
Adhikari, Kamalesh (2023). Changing regulatory landscapes for seed banks and farmer varieties. Seed Policy Seminar Series. Native Seeds Search.
Adhikari, Kamalesh (2023). Australian Herbaria and Best Practice Guidelines for the Collection, Use and Transfer of Genetic Resources. Nagoya Protocol Compliance Strategies. Managers of Australasian Herbaria.
Research Reports
Adhikari, Kamalesh, Azevedo, Vania, Bebeli, Penelope J., Chatzigeorgiou, Alexandra, Gálvez, Amanda, Guarino, Luigi, Kotey, Daniel Ashie, Paczka, Rafael Ortega, Ranieri, Roberto, Spyrou, Sofia, Thanopoulos, Ricos and Valamoti, Soultana Maria (2022). The Thessaloniki Declaration: We save landraces – we use landraces. Thessaloniki, Greece:
Adhikari, Kamalesh, Bosse, Jocelyn, Fish, Allison and Sherman, Brad (2018). Intellectual property and related legal issues facing the Australian Native Food Industry. AgriFutures Australia Publication Wagga Wagga NSW Australia: AgriFutures Australia.
Adhikari, Kamalesh (2012). Seed banking in South Asia for protection of farmers’ rights. Kathmandu, Nepal:
Adhikari, Kamalesh (2009). Farmers' rights: global contexts, negotiations and strategies. Kathmandu, Nepal: SAWTEE.
Working Papers
Adhikari, Kamalesh, Sherman, Brad and Jefferson, David James (2020). Collecting Australian native plant materials from the Wild: Guidelines on key legal issues. The ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Uniquely Australian Foods.
Sherman, Brad, Adhikari,Kamalesh and Jefferson, David (2020). Collecting Australian native plant materials from intermediaries: Guidelines on key legal issues. The ARC Industrial Transformation Training Centre for Uniquely Australian Foods, The University of Queensland.