Current developments in seed laws harmonisation in Africa

This report reviews the current status of seed laws internationally, at the continental level in Africa, in the EU, in the US as well as international programs of relevance to seed laws in Africa. This report also reviews the debates informing the status of these laws. These debates revolve around the rights of farmers to save, reuse, and exchange or sell farm-saved seed. Saving, re-using, exchanging or selling farm-saved seed is not only a practice that farmers especially in Africa have been engaging for a long time as a strategy to overcome the challenge of accessing seed, but is also recognized as a farmer right internationally.

This practice has contributed immensely towards the conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. Further, the report examines the extent to which African farmers participate in the processes for the formulation of seed policies, noting that participation is necessary if seed laws, policies and programmes are to be relevant, effective and sustainable.

Promotion of agroecological, healthy and affordable food systems in Africa cannot be achieved without farmers participating in seed policy making processes. These policies include those concerning maintaining the rights of farmers to save, use and exchange farms-saved seeds and harvests of protected as well as indigenous varieties.

This paper examines international, continental and regional-level treaties, instruments and policies and attempts to identify activities that DG INTPA F3 could support to maintain and promote farmers rights. Indeed, some of the treaties already in existence recognize farmers’ rights or are crafted in a manner that allow for these rights, while others do not at all.

Overall, the EU and member states stand in strategic position in enabling Africa to find a balance between farmers’ rights and rights of Plant Variety Protection (PVP) holders. This balance will contribute immensely to the agroecological approach for food production in Africa, the EU and beyond. African countries that are members of the Plant Treaty and increasingly becoming members of the UPOV 1991, the two basic legal framework on matters concerning farmers’ rights, could partner with the EU in finding this balance. Supporting farmer organisations participation in seed policy making processes is part and parcel of finding this balance and also in attainment of farmers’ rights. This is one element that DG INTPA could take up and support as part of the EU’s international partnership and development policy programmes.

Finally, the AfCFTA, the African regional economic blocs and intellectual property institutions require support in making coherent the various seed laws and policies in place. All these laws and policies are intended to support, and not impede, food production in Africa. EU institutions may have an influential role in this regard by requiring African countries to adhere to new seed regulation aligned to the European Green Deal, as part of the wider effort to mainstream the farm to fork strategy in national and regional policies. It does not necessarily follow that implementation of UPOV 1991 should deny the rights of farmers to save, use, sell and exchange protected seeds. In any event, clarity should be contained in all the instruments on seed laws being put in place that rights accruing to indigenous varieties are different and distinct to those accruing to protected varieties.

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