Nigeria is on the verge of securing full membership in the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) as the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) works to finalise and deposit the required declarations.
With UPOV membership, Nigeria can enhance Plant Variety Protection (PVP) and gain access to an international system for plant variety protection, allowing breeders to register their innovations more efficiently.
This will also encourage foreign breeders to introduce superior crop varieties to Nigeria, knowing their intellectual property will be safeguarded.
The acting director-general of NASC, Dr Ishiak Khalid, disclosed this to journalists yesterday at the opening of the 2025 boot camp for youths on Plant Variety Protection (PVP) for the development of agriculture in Abuja.
He stated that Nigeria’s accession to UPOV is expected to attract local and international plant breeders, encouraging the development of high-yield, climate-resilient crops while reducing reliance on land expansion for increased production and promoting sustainable agricultural practices.
The DG, represented by the director of seed certification and quality control, Ubandoma Hudu, stressed the country’s commitment to fostering innovation in plant breeding.
“The journey we began in 2019 has brought us to this crucial moment. We have made steady progress in protecting new plant varieties, ensuring sustainability and competitiveness in Nigeria’s agricultural sector through increased investment in breeding and innovation,” he said.
The acting registrar of the PVP office, Dr Okelola Folarin, who highlighted the importance of intellectual property rights in agriculture, explained that while Nigeria has a strong awareness of copyright, trademarks and patents, plant breeders’ rights have remained largely overlooked.
According to Folarin, protecting new plant varieties would encourage breeders to develop superior crops with better yields, improved taste, and resilience to climate change, which, in turn, would make Nigeria’s agricultural sector more competitive on the global stage.
Despite significant progress, Nigeria still needs to take one final step before becoming a full UPOV: depositing its instrument of accession.
Folarin confirmed, “The president has graciously signed the instrument, and the country has acceded to UPOV.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has the mandate to deposit it, has assured us that this will happen very soon.
The boot, organised by the Nigeria Plant Variety Protection Office (NPVPO) with support from AGRA and other partners, gathered a select group of participants from a pool of 77 applicants nationwide.
The programme targets young graduates, researchers, legal professionals, and women in agriculture to create a new generation of PVP advocates.
