Latest Seed Laws & Policies Resources

Organised in partnership with the Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa (AFSA) and the Association for Plant Breeding for the Benefit of Society (APBREBES), ACB is co-hosting and participating in a capacity-building workshop on Plant Variety Protection (PVP) and Farmers’ Rights, currently underway in Entebbe, Uganda. The workshop, bringing together civil society organisations, smallholder farmers, […]

Further comments submitted by the African Centre for Biodiversity (ACB). In November, the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) hosted stakeholder consultations in Pretoria and Cape Town on the regulations of the Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBR) and Plant Improvement (PI) Acts. The ACB was quick to accept the invitation to attend both […]

We stand united in our commitment to addressing the pervasive push for the adoption of plant variety protection (PVP) laws in Africa, aligned with the Eurocentric International Union for Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) 1991 model. We continue to declare our unwavering dedication to championing a just and sustainable agricultural future for the […]

Veuillez cliquer ici pour lire la version française The African Union (AU) has endorsed the continental guidelines for the harmonisation of seed and regulatory frameworks and the continental guidelines for the use of biotechnology in food and agriculture in Africa, despite fierce resistance from African civil society. On 16 February 2022, we found out that […]

On this day in 1961, a Geneva-based intergovernmental organisation with six European member States took the first step to colonise seeds. The UK, France, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark, and Sweden founded the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), setting in motion a strategy to strip communities’ rights to seeds in favour […]

For over two decades, and in defence of life and democracy, diverse constituencies in Africa have promoted the rights of small farmers and their seed systems, and have expressed and continue to express concern related to the use and governance of modern biotechnology on the continent. We include smallholder farmers, pastoralists, fisherfolk, hunter/gatherers, indigenous peoples, […]

In rejection of the United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFSS), which held its pre-summit this week, civil society, farmers groups and social movements came together for a global counter-mobilisation that spanned four days, with 15 online sessions. One of the webinars, titled Seed is power: Reclaiming African Seed Sovereignty, featured a presentation: Africans speak out […]

The Plant Breeders’ Rights and Plant Improvement Bills restrict the saving, trading, exchanging, and sale of seed. This can have massive ramifications on seed and food sovereignty, agricultural biodiversity, access to diverse seed, and increasing the disparities and inequalities in South African agriculture, food and nutrition. We urgently need to protect and preserve our food […]

Seed policy in sub-Saharan Africa is developing and changing fast, as the seed industry continues to expand its reach. A huge amount of energy and resources are being directed at harmonising seed and intellectual property legislation at the regional level through regional economic communities. Harmonised regional seed laws influence the shaping of national seed legislation, […]

Commentary on South Africa’s Plant Improvement Bill and Plant Breeders’ Rights Bill. Read here.

Further comments on the revised regulations (draft 3) for the implementation of ARIPO’s Arusha Protocol for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, that will be submitted for adoption in December 2016. This paper focuses on some of the most problematic aspects that needs to be rectified by ARIPO Member States as these perpetuate impingement […]

The revised regulations for the implementation of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation’s (ARIPO’s) Arusha Protocol for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants continues to perpetuate the impingement of national sovereignty, fails to safeguard farmers’ rights and farmer seed systems and to provide safeguards against biopiracy. These comments, submitted to ARIPO, raise concerns and […]