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As the World Seed Day was observed on Saturday, April 26, 2025, the Ecological Think Tank, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) says it isn’t just celebrating seed as food but as part of our cultural heritage and life. Along with the Environmental Rights Action, the group adds that it honours the resilience, knowledge and ingenuity of small holders farmers all over the world who have for generation preserved the biodiversity of our seeds and our food sovereignty.
The group called on the Nigeria Government to withdraw from the International Union for the Protection of New Plant varieties (UPOV 1991), which it said is a threat to our food system. It urged the authorities to develop a “Sui generis” seed protection system in line with the African Model Law.
“HOMEF in partnership with other national and international organisations 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,” the group submitted in a statement.
HOMEF’s Executive Director, Nnimmo Bassey, stated that “The Nigerian Plant Variety Protection (PVP) Law fails to recognise 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 marginalising the very people who have sustained our food systems for generations.”
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 (e.g., grain) and even further to products made directly from harvested material (e.g., milled maize).
Brown added 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)
Food Sovereignty Activist and Deputy Director of Environmental Rights Action, Mariann Bassey-Orovwuje, highlighted that “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 ).”
In addition, she pointed out 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.”
The groups call 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.
Furthermore, 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 criminalisation; 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.
“Also, Nigeria should prioritise the set up of seed banks at community, local government and state levels to ensure the preservation of indigenous varieties.
“In line with the theme for the 2025 World Seed Day: Empowering Farmers-Protecting Biodiversity, Nigeria should promote farmer-managed seed systems and invest in local, resilient seed networks that secure food and ecological justice. Our government should prioritise people over and above corporate interests.”
