March 26, 2010

Source: Newsletter of the World Vegetable Center

Seventy representatives from around the world met to share experiences, strategies, and challenges involved in protecting plant intellectual property during a regional seminar from 23-26 February 2010 at the New Africa Hotel in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The event was organized by the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security, and Cooperatives (MAFC), United Republic of Tanzania, in cooperation with the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), the United States Patent and Trademarks Office (USPTO), and AVRDC – The World Vegetable Center. Participants from 16 ARIPO member states and observer countries discussed Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBR) and Plant Variety Protection (PVP) policies under the framework of the UPOV Convention. Experts from UPOV, USPTO, African Organization of Intellectual Property (OAPI), Community Plant Variety Office (CPVO) of the European Union, Naktuinbouw Company of Netherlands, GNIS Seed Co. Ltd., and Iowa State University USA spoke on the benefits, challenges, and uniqueness of each system.

Stephen M. Wasira, Tanzania’s Minister of Agriculture, noted the need to transform the agricultural sector in Tanzania and all ARIPO member countries. He urged ARIPO to take a leading role in assisting member states to develop national and regional systems for granting and protecting plant breeders’ rights using internationally acceptable standards. Fredrick Ruhindi, Deputy Attorney General and Minister of State for Justice and Constitutional Affairs in Uganda, highlighted his country’s current undertakings toward policy and legal reforms to address challenges and developments in intellectual property. AVRDC’s Director General Dyno Keatinge introduced the Center’s leading role in promoting vegetable research and development in Africa, Asia, and other parts of the world, and stressed the importance of indigenous vegetables in alleviating malnutrition and poverty in Africa. UPOV Vice Secretary-General Rolf Jördens encouraged AVRDC to continue improving vegetable varieties to help small-scale and subsistence farmers.

Website: https://avrdc.org/

Published: March 26, 2010