Since the passage of the Plant Variety Protection (PVP) Bill by the 9th National Assembly recently, which awaits the President’s assent, several stakeholders have been at loggerheads over the benefits or danger of the bill to the Nigerian food security sector. JOHN OBA reports.
Yes, without doubt, the seed sector is the most important sub-sector in the entire value chain of agriculture the world over, it is the critical and one of the most important factors that determines the level of development the agricultural sector in any country can attain, Nigeria is not excluded. The foundation of development in the sector rests almost squarely on the quality of research and development undertaken by plant breeders and other scientists in the sector, in their absence, the sector would most likely be unable to support robust and sustainable agricultural development in any country.
For some years now, the Nigeria seeds sector has witnessed huge improvement through several innovations and laws put in place to either strength the fight against fake seeds machants or policies to check the quality of seeds produced by Seeds Producers. On of such law is the Plant Variety Protection Bill (PVP) currently before the President for assent.
The opposition arose from the fear that the Bill if passed is another means of further bringing Genetically Modified Organism (GMOs) into the country, while the stakeholders also accused the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) of not engaging Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the process of developing the Bill and urged President Muhammadu Buhari not to assent to the Bill.
The Alarm
Some of the major opposer of the Bill are stakeholders in the Nigeria Food industry that are also against GMOs products.
A statement signed by the director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation, Dr. Nnimmo Bassey, recently said signing the Plant Variety Protection (PVP) Bill currently awaiting President Muhammadu Buhari’s assent will spell disaster for our agriculture and farming systems.
Speaking on behalf of other Stakeholders during a Food Policy Dialogue organised recently by Health of Mother Earth Foundation, (HOMEF) in Abuja, the stakeholders raised concern that once in place, farmers will be criminalised if they duplicate or share seeds registered under this law.
Bassey, pointed some out faults with the bill, Bassey said although the proponents of the bill insist that genetically modified organisms (GMOs) will not creep into the food system as part of the new plants varieties, but that there are some worrisome provisions in it.
“The PVP bill Clause 13 (2) says the grant of the breeder’s right shall not be subject to any further or different conditions. In other words, this act locks breeders rights in concrete. It could preclude the development of appropriate laws and policies to decriminalise farmer’s seed systems and farmer’s rights and is grossly inequitable. It also restricts Nigerian farmer’s rights more heavily than the laws of Brazil, Argentina, China, South Africa, etc.
“Another interesting provision is Clause 19 (7) which states that if a member of a international organisation protects a variety and brings an application by itself or in partnership with another
Food is a human right
“We should never forget that food is a human right, and no one should be subject to the indignity of chronic hunger and malnutrition. Our composite farms offer foods needed for balanced nutritious diets rather than what plantation monocultures or green deserts offer. This is the time to build a food policy anchored on agroecology. It is time to support our farmers with adequate extension services, infrastructure, finance, and market access,” he said.
But responding to the concern of the stakeholders the Director General, NASC Dr. Philip Olusegun Ojo, highlighted the importance of the PVP law for agricultural transformation, and the need for Nigerians to pay more attention to the Plant Variety Protection (PVP) law.
PVP bill has nothing to do with GMOs
He however corrected that PVP bill has nothing to do with GMOs but o provide a legal framework and a system that encourage plant breeding, leading to development of superior plant varieties with high yield potentials capable of withstanding conditions resulting from climate change, global population and growth, etc.
“Nigeria is one of the few countries in Africa with no legal framework for the protection of plant breeders.” He listed a few advantages of the PVP law; Increased investment in plant breeding and development of new plant varieties capable of increasing yield and productivity for our small-scale farmers; Increase in the number of breeders and breeding entities; increase in the availability of more improved crop varieties with better yielding potentials; generation of employment opportunities. He stated categorically that the PVP law has nothing to do with the advancement of GMO.
Substantial investment in skills
“Also, the PVP is in no way against farmers to use their farm safe seeds, however, it provides better choices for the farmer. Therefore, supporting the development of new plant varieties is an essential response to achieving food security and agricultural sustainability but will require a substantial investment in skills, labor, material resources, money and time. The PVP law afford the plant breeders as an incentive for the development of new varieties to contribute to sustainable progress in agriculture, horticulture and forestry.”
Also, buttressing the position of Dr. Ojo, the National Coordinator, National Agricultural Seeds Advocacy Group (NASAG) Mr. Celestine Okeke, said the private sectors are not willing to invest in the new plant varieties due to the lack of the PVP Law.
He stressed the need for private sector investment in PVP. “We need to look at how we can secure the investment of those who are investing.”
He said that just as authors have copyrights, plant breeders also need the PVP law to secure investors who are brave enough to invest.
Plant breeders should have rights over their breeds
He explained further that the disaster in the sector includes low yield, limited reach of extension services, climate change and proliferation of adulterated/ substandard seeds in the market, nowhere does the signing of the bill pose a disaster for farmers else than in the minds of those who do not believe that plant breeders should have rights over their breeds. Conversely, the continued non-existence of a protection for plant breeders (who may even be farmers or otherwise) poses a greater danger to the sector as breeders have continued to leave the country to work in climes where their rights are protected and those still within the country are not willing to invest time and resources in plant breeding as there is no law protecting their intellectual work.
“PVP allows breeders to register their patent on their seeds such that anyone who produces the same “variety” without their consent will be criminalized and that it will get to a point where the seeds that are not registered will be barred from being used
“It does appear some of the key proponent of the bill not been signed into law do not understand the issue they are seeking to address. The bill is not centered on patent for seeds. Seeds cannot in any way be patented. That is why best practice globally is to create room for a form of right via variety protection.
