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Publication | 2022

Current developments in seed laws harmonisation in Africa

Global Food and Nutrition Security

This report reviews the current status of seed laws internationally, at the continental level in Africa, in the EU, in the US as well as international programs of relevance to seed laws in Africa.

This report also reviews the debates informing the status of these laws. These debates revolve around the rights of farmers to save, reuse, and exchange or sell farm-saved seed. Saving, re-using, exchanging or selling farm-saved seed is not only a practice that farmers especially in Africa have been engaging for a long time as a strategy to overcome the challenge of accessing seed, but is also recognized as a farmer right internationally. This practice has contributed immensely towards the conservation of plant genetic resources for food and agriculture.

Further, the report examines the extent to which African farmers participate in the processes for the formulation of seed policies, noting that participation is necessary if seed laws, policies and programmes are to be relevant, effective and sustainable. Promotion of agroecological, healthy and affordable food systems in Africa cannot be achieved without farmers participating in seed policy making processes. These policies include those concerning maintaining the rights of farmers to save, use and exchange farms-saved seeds and harvests of protected as well as indigenous varieties.

This paper examines international, continental and regional-level treaties, instruments and policies and attempts to identify activities that the European Commission (DG INTPA) could support to maintain and promote farmers rights.

The findings show that current seed policies need to (and can) be made more coherent and operational to support farmer-managed seed systems in Africa. More in particular, harmonisation efforts should be predominantly geared towards protecting local biodiversity, thus indigenous seed varieties and landraces, which are maintained and reproduced within farmer-managed seed systems. Supporting farmer organisations participation in seed policy making processes is is key to secure farmers’ rights.