NESG applauds new Plant Variety Protection Act 2021

The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has commended the Nigerian Government for signing the Plant Variety Protection (PVP) Bill into law on May 21, 2021.

The PVP Bill was passed by the House of Representatives on December 17, 2020 and the Nigerian senate on March 3, 2021, following several months of deliberation.

A statement by the Head, Corporate Communications, NESG, Yinka Iyinolakan, said through the National Assembly Business Environment Roundtable (NASSBER), the Partnership for Inclusive Agricultural Transformation in Africa (PIATA), together 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 enaction of legislation that would provide a plant variety protection system that will incentivise national and multinational agribusiness investments and aid the development of Nigeria’s agriculture value chain.

The passage and implementation of the PVP bill, according to the NESG, would give plant breeders intellectual property over a new plant variety, with exclusive rights to commercialise seed and/or propagation material of the variety.

The statement explained that the PVP also promotes marketing of new varieties and allow breeders to earn back the considerable costs involved in the long process of variety development.

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

The Guardian gathered that 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.

While commending the National Assembly and the government for signing the PVP bill into law, the NESG urged the government, the NASC, 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 implementation guidelines are properly set and act speedily in ensuring that critical aspects of the bill are effectively implemented.

The NESG maintained that the measures set out in the PVP Act would create more appropriate system that would meet today’s realities, improve the business environment and general agricultural performance across the economy.

The NESG, said it would continue to partner with 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.