NESG lists gains of new Plant Variety Protection Act

By Chinyere Okoroafor

The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has hailed the Federal Government for signing the Plant Variety Protection (PVP) Bill into law.

The Bill was passed by the House of Representatives last December and the Senate in March, following several months of deliberation.

Through the National Assembly Business Environment Roundtable (NASSBER), the partnership for Inclusive Agricultural Transformation in Africa (PIATA), with AGRA, the Rockefeller Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and USAID, the NESG has been collaborating with the Nigeria Agricultural Seed Council (NASC) to support the enactment of a legislation that would provide a plant variety protection system.

This, the group said, is meant to bolster national and multinational agribusiness investments and aid the development of Nigeria’s agriculture value chain.

A statement by NESG’s Head of Corporate Communication, Yinka Iyinolakan, said: “The passage and implementation of the Plant Variety Protection Bill will give plant breeders intellectual property over a new plant variety, with exclusive rights to commercialise seed and/or propagation material of the variety.

“The PVP also promotes marketing of new varieties and allows breeders to earn back the considerable costs involved in the long process of variety development.

“Furthermore, a well-functioning PVP system will encourage in-country breeding activities; this will also attract foreign companies to introduce high quality improved varieties, knowing that others cannot easily copy their effort or take advantage of it.

“Once the PVP law is fully implemented in Nigeria, the country will move from generating $0 from seeds export to generating well over $2.0 billion from seeds export within the first five years.”

Praising the National Assembly and the government for signing the PVP Bill into law, the NESG said: “We implore the government, the National Agricultural Seeds Council, the Seeds sector, all players in the food and agriculture seeds ecosystem, trade and investment, science and digital innovation, sustainability and all stakeholders to ensure that implementation guidelines are properly set and act speedily in ensuring that critical aspects of the Bill are effectively implemented.

“We believe that the measures set out in the PVP Act will create a more appropriate system that meets today’s realities, improve the business environment and general agricultural performance across the economy as a whole.

“The NESG will continue to partner stakeholders in the agricultural ecosystem and other sectors to improve the PVP Act and ensure it is beneficial to plant breeders, smallholder farmers and every stakeholder in the Nigerian Agricultural ecosystem.”