Online Reporter
Lloyd Makonya
Correspondent
THE African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (ARIPO), in collaboration with the Ministry of Law and Justice Lesotho and the Ministry of Agriculture Lesotho, earlier this week convened a high-level symposium on Plant Variety Protection (PVP), bringing renewed focus to the role of intellectual property in advancing agricultural innovation, food security and economic development across Africa.
Held in Maseru, the symposium gathered policymakers, legal experts, plant breeders and development practitioners to interrogate key issues around the implementation of the Arusha Protocol for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, as well as the scope and limitations of plant breeders’ rights.
Central to the discussions was how PVP systems can empower youths, support Small-to-Medium Enterprises (SMEs), and drive job creation within the agricultural sector.
Officially opening the symposium, Lesotho’s Agriculture Minister, Honourable Selibe Mochoboroane, underscored the significance of the gathering, particularly as ARIPO marks its golden jubilee. “This symposium, coming in the year of ARIPO’s 50th Anniversary, gives us a moment to reflect on the journey travelled and the opportunities ahead,” he said. “Plant variety protection promotes innovation, improves productivity and plays a crucial role in strengthening food security.”
He further encouraged member states to expedite the domestication of the Arusha Protocol, noting that it provides a harmonised framework for protecting plant varieties across the region. Lesotho, he said, is already taking concrete steps in this direction, including moving towards ratification and aligning its national legal frameworks with regional standards.
The country’s progress is anchored in broader agricultural reforms, including its seed policy adopted in 2016 and ongoing efforts to enact legislation regulating seed quality and usage. These frameworks are designed to ensure that farmers access high-quality and certified seeds, a critical factor in boosting yields and resilience in the face of climate change.
Deliberations at the symposium also highlighted the delicate balance between protecting breeders’ rights and safeguarding the traditional practices of farmers. While plant breeders’ rights incentivise innovation by granting exclusive commercial control over new varieties, exceptions particularly the “farmers’ privilege” remain essential in many African contexts where seed saving and exchange are integral to rural livelihoods.
It is imperative that a well-calibrated PVP regime should not marginalise smallholder farmers but instead integrate their knowledge systems into formal innovation frameworks. This is particularly important in Africa, where indigenous agricultural knowledge has sustained communities for generations.
For Zimbabwe, the outcomes of the symposium resonate strongly with national development priorities outlined in the National Development Strategy (NDS2), which identifies innovation as a key driver of economic growth.
Zimbabwe stands to benefit significantly from strengthening its plant variety protection systems. By aligning more closely with the Arusha Protocol, the country could unlock several strategic advantages:
First, enhanced protection for plant breeders including local researchers and institutions would stimulate the development of improved crop varieties. These include biofortified crops with higher nutritional value, drought-tolerant seeds suited to Zimbabwe’s increasingly erratic climate and disease-resistant varieties that reduce crop losses.
Second, a robust PVP framework could support the growth of agro-based SMEs, particularly in seed production and distribution.
This will, not only create employment opportunities, but also strengthen agricultural value chains. Third, formal recognition and protection of indigenous knowledge systems could ensure that local farmers are not sidelined in the innovation ecosystem. Instead, their contributions from traditional seed selection methods to climate-resilient farming practices can be documented, protected and integrated into modern breeding programmes.
This aligns with Zimbabwe’s broader policy thrust to safeguard traditional knowledge and cultural heritage while leveraging science and technology for development. In this context, PVP becomes more than just a legal tool it is a bridge between tradition and innovation.
As climate change, population growth and economic pressures continue to strain food systems across the region, the importance of resilient and innovative agriculture cannot be overstated. The ARIPO symposium reaffirmed that plant variety protection, when implemented thoughtfully, can serve as a powerful enabler of this transformation.
However, its success will depend on how well countries balance competing interests of innovation and access, commercial rights and community practices.
For Zimbabwe and other ARIPO member states, the path forward lies in crafting inclusive, context-sensitive policies that not only protect new plant varieties but also empower the farmers who remain at the heart of Africa’s agricultural future.
