…claims Union serves as threat to Nigeria’s food system

By Gabriel Ewepu

ABUJA – AS Nigeria joins rest of the world to commemorate World Seed Day 2025, Health of Mother Earth Foundation, HOMEF, weekend, called on the Federal Government to withdraw Nigeria’s membership from the International Union for the Protection of New Plant varieties (UPOV 1991).

The Executive Director, HOMEF, Arc Nnimmo Bassey, said the call became necessary based on their claim that the Nigeria’s Plant Variety Protection, PVP, Law which was developed as a requirement for membership in UPOV threatens farmers right, biodiversity and food sovereignty.

Meanwhile, Bassey said the World Seed Day, is not just celebrating seed as food but as part of cultural heritage and life, and added that the Ecological Think Tank, HOMEF and Environmental Rights Action, honours the resilience, knowledge and ingenuity of small-holder farmers all over the world who have for generation preserved the biodiversity of the nation’s seeds and food sovereignty.

It will be recalled that the Nigerian government on 27th February 2025, deposited the instrument of accession and Nigeria was approved as the eightieth member of UPOV on 27th March 2025.

He said: “The Nigerian Plant Variety Protection (PVP) Law fails to recognize the country’s unique agricultural landscape, where over 80% of farmers are smallholder farmers who play a vital role in conserving and enhancing plant genetic resources. These farmers depend largely on traditional practices including saving, reusing and exchanging farm saved seeds.

“Furthermore, the law creates an imbalanced environment where Intellectual Property Rights override farmers’ rights. It promotes the dominance of commercial seed systems over farmers’ and indigenous seed systems, thereby marginalizing the very people who have sustained our food systems for generations.

“The Nigeria Government is to withdraw from the International Union for the Protection of New Plant varieties (UPOV 1991) which is a threat to our food system and to develop a “Sui generis” seed protection system in line with the African Model Law.

“HOMEF in partnership with other national and international organizations has since 2021 campaigned against the set up of the Nigeria’s Plant Variety Protection (PVP) Law which was developed as a requirement for membership in UPOV.

“The PVP Law threatens farmers right, biodiversity and our food sovereignty. Despite our collective voice and a lawsuit against some key components of the law, The Nigerian government on 27th February 2025, deposited the instrument of accession and Nigeria was approved as the eightieth member of UPOV on 27th March 2025.”

Meanwhile, the Project Lead on Hunger Politics, Joyce Brown, noted that careful analysis of the PVP Law has shown that it places severe restrictions not only on the use of farm-saved seed (propagating material) but extends to harvested material (grain) and even further to products made directly from harvested material (milled maize).

Brown also alleged that the PVP law encourages the genetic modification of crops which have direct implications on human (use of herbicides and pesticidal crops) and environmental health (monocultures) as well as on biosafety (destruction of non-target organisms).

A food sovereignty activist and Deputy Director, Environmental Rights Action, Mariann Bassey-Orovwuje, said, “the process of development of the PVP law was less than transparent, with no public hearings and lack of consultations and participation of smallholder farmers. This is in contrast to the Nigerian Constitution of 1999 which provides for democracy and social justice as per Article 14 (1) and 14(2) (c ).”

Bassey-Orovwuje also asserted that, “The law grants final decision-making power to the Minister of Agriculture, particularly in cases of appeal regarding breeder’s rights. This provision violates Section 36 of the Nigerian Constitution, which guarantees every citizen the right to a fair hearing and access to justice through the courts. Concentrating such powers in the hands of a single authority undermines democratic principles and judicial independence.”

In their resolution, the groups called on the Nigerian government to withdraw from the UPOV 1991 framework and halt the implementation of the PVP Law in its current form, adding that the Law which is line with the UPOV’s provisions undermines traditional agricultural practices and threatens farmers rights and freedom by opening the door for corporate control.

The groups advised that “Nigeria should develop a “sui generis” plant variety protection system tailored to Nigeria’s unique agricultural context, drawing from the African Model Law. Such a system should ensure that protection mechanisms do not privilege commercial interests at the expense of communal, farmer-driven seed systems. It is essential that this law be developed through inclusive, bottom-up consultations with farmers, indigenous communities, civil society, and public research institutions.

“This seed law must guarantee farmers’ rights, including the right to save, use and exchange farm-saved seeds without criminalization; ensure full transparency and public access to breeder applications to protect against exploitation and safeguard indigenous knowledge; support smallholder farmers through credible credit facilities, infrastructure, and support for public research institutions that serve farmers’ needs.”