President Muhammadu Buhari has signed into law, the Plant Variety Protection Bill 2021, to create a window for the protection of plant varieties in Nigeria.
Sponsor of the bill, now an Act, Hon. Munir Dan Agundi, said the law will provide recognition and proper remuneration for the breeders who develop varieties, adding that the law will introduce the long awaited game changing tool for agricultural research to create meaningful impact in the nation’s agricultural industry.
While commending the president for his timely intervention in the agricultural sector reforms and addressing concerns of Nigerians to diversify the economy through agriculture, the lawmaker said the signing of the law was part of government’s commitment in ensuring that the sector is totally reformed.
Agundi said all efforts made by previous administrations to reform the sector could not see the light of the day due to lack of political will, adding that President Buhari has so far assented to the National Fertilizer and Quality (Control) Act, 2019; National Agricultural Seeds Council Act, 2019: and the Plant Variety Protection Act, 2021.
The lawmaker said the action demonstrated government’s commitment to ensuring that the agricultural sector is totally reformed, adding that Nigeria presently has such low and declining levels of investment in agricultural research and development.
He said there was the growing concern about the ability of African agriculture research and development systems to respond to current and emerging development challenges, adding that “the ability of our agricultural systems to sustainably support innovations in the seed sector is not within acceptable bunds and to avert looming food security, there is an urgent need to open up the research and development in the seed sector for improved agricultural productivity in the country.”
