Establishment of Plant Breeders’ Rights System in Tanzania: Achievements and Challenges, United Republic of Tanzania

3 The Concept and Importance of Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs)

Intellectual property can be defined as that which is created by the human intellect (“ideas” or “thoughts”), often intangible unlike other forms of property. When the ideas or thoughts are converted to practice (for example, in appliances, drugs, books, new plant varieties etc), and the reduced-to-practice ideas are new (novel), they can be protected by government laws. These laws confer to the creator exclusive legal rights over the subject matter, which serve as a reward for their achievement and contribution to socio-economic progress as well as an incentive for further innovation.

Types of intellectual property rights include:

• Industrial property: (patents, trade marks, special rights for integrated circuits, utility models, industrial designs, etc); and
• Literary and artistic property: (copyright, rights of performers, et. cetera).
• Plant variety protection (PBR): a sui generis system often excluded from lists of intellectual property categories

4.1 Plant Breeders Rights

Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBRs) are defined by UPOV³ as an exclusive right over the commercial production and marketing of the reproductive or vegetative propagating material of the protected variety. The creation of this category of rights as an alternative to patents was intended to provide incentives for the seed industry. Therefore the primary motivation behind such rights is profit-making; these rights attract investment from the private sector and stimulate research and development of stronger and more productive plant varieties.

The development of a new variety is usually a long and costly undertaking and therefore by allowing breeders to control commercialization of their variety, by enacting and implementing a plant breeders' rights legislation gives them a chance to recoup costs and profit from their breeding investment. This also motivates breeders to continue developing new varieties for the benefit of farmers and the society in general.

² Tanzania Patent Act of 1987 ³ UPOV Convention of 1991

4.2 Farmers’ Rights

In developing countries, seed supply requirements are met through exchanges between farmers, which operate alongside other more formal mechanisms. Farmers’ seed systems are largely based on traditional methods of selection between varieties as well as seed multiplication carried out on farms, but still involve modern varieties. Nevertheless there is no uniform interpretation of farmers’ rights in relation to IPRs on plant varieties. Farmers’ rights protection carries with it benefits such as the improvement of the livelihood of those farmers and their communities; environment conservation and the monitoring of resources; the prevention of rural migration; less dependence on foreign countries and the prevention of biopiracy by recognizing the contribution of local farmers.

The major difference between farmers’ rights and IPRs is that while the latter offers exclusive rights, the former is geared towards compensation and benefit sharing. Also, farmers’ rights do not readily define the title holder or subject matter, while they are clearly established for IPRs. Finally, IPRs are also of a limited duration while farmers’ rights are unlimited

Farmer’s rights are a counter-balance to PBRs in recognition of the farmer’s contribution to agricultural innovations, to promote the equitable sharing of genetic resources and in recognition of the importance of the conservation of such resources and traditional practices. The legal scope of these rights is still in debate. A whole spectrum of views has been put forward regarding the utility and place of farmers’ rights protection in the law. Some of these views include: There should be no relationship between farmers’ rights and IPRs; Farmers rights should be recognized in laws relating to plant breeders’ rights; A sui generis regime on farmers’ rights should be established separately from existing forms of IPRs and The existing definitions under plant breeders’ rights legislation should be extended to protect farmers varieties.

Part V of the Model Law developed by the African Union outlines farmers’ rights which include the right to save, use, and exchange seed produced on farms, and to use protected varieties in the development of new farmer’s varieties.

The importance of having a clear understanding of what should be regarded as farmers’ rights and their place in legal systems is less pronounced in developed countries but is relevant in the developing country context. Here, farmers are a primary source of seed supply through informal exchange arrangements. For example in Tanzania, 95 percent of seed management is carried out by farmers and the remaining 10 percent supplied by certified seeds sold on the market (these are generally much more expensive and are not easily available to many farmers in remote areas)⁴. The Plant Breeders Rights Act of 2002 recognizes this situation and therefore provides that farmers are privileges to save seeds of a protected variety as long as it is grown in their own holdings (farms). The Act also does not discriminate farmers in the definition of a breeder, meaning that a farmer can also develop and protect a new variety. However, the Act does not provide other forms of rights specifically for farmers but the government has initiated a process of enacting a law on access and use of plant genetic resources where all matters related to farmers rights will be captured.

In order to solve the problem of seed availability and affordability to small scale farmers, the Tanzanian government has initiated an on-farm seed production system known as Quality Declared Seed (QDS) System⁵. The QDS system allows small scale farmers (growing not more than 5 acres of seed) to produce seed on their own farms and declared the quality of their own seed and sell to nearby farmers within an administrative area known as a ward. The national seed certification agency may once in a while inspect these farmers but their involvement does not exceed 10 percent. The system has been operational since the year 2000 and has now been legalized by the new Seed Act of 2003⁶.

⁴ MAFC Report to the National Variety Release Committee, December 2008 ⁵ QDS Programme Launch Report, 2002 ⁶Tanzania Seed Act of 2003

4.3 Community Rights

The sovereign rights of the state over its natural resources forms the basis of its negotiating position on the international plane and the right to develop policies appropriate for its national context. Community rights are those belonging to members of an identifiable

indigenous community, with each member entitled to use of the common property and any management issue pertaining to the property must have the consent of the entire community. A delineation of these rights is often difficult given that property rights are individualistic in nature, but this should not negate recognition of community rights which recognize their conservation role, to provide incentives and also to fulfill their human rights entitlements. Currently there is no specific law for the protection of community rights in Tanzania, and based on the current administrative structure in the country such law may be difficult to implement. As a way of strengthening national unity and cohesion, immediately after independence, Tanzania abolished village chiefdoms which existed along tribal boundaries and established new village boundaries and leadership that had little to do with tribal affiliations. It might therefore be difficult to distribute any benefits arising from the use of plant genetic resources which were obtained from areas originally belonging to a certain indigenous community.

5.1 OAU Model Law

A Model Law which outlines its sui generis system has been developed by the AU, formally, OAU. The law deals with access to biological resources, benefit sharing and the rights of farmers and breeders over their knowledge and resources. It rejects the exclusive appropriation of any life form, including derivatives. Communities can prohibit access to resources only where it would be detrimental to their natural heritage; also, at least half of the benefits derived from access must be directed back to the community. This framework provides a comprehensive definition of farmers’ rights, including protection of their traditional knowledge relevant to plant and animal genetic resources, the right of equitable share of benefits arising from the use of plant and animal genetic resources, the right to participate in making decisions on matters related to the conservation, exchange, and sale of farm-saved seed or propagating material, and the right to use a commercial breeder’s variety to develop other varieties. It also provides that where food security or nutritional or health needs are adversely affected, governments are allowed, in the public interest, to restrict the realization of the rights of breeders. Breeders’ rights are modeled after the UPOV Conventions, although article 43 of the Model Law provides broad exemptions to breeders’ rights including noncommercial use rights, sale of the plant material for food or sale within the specific geographical location where the plant material originated, and also use as an initial source for propagating another variety⁷.

Although the Organization unanimously approved the Model Law, very few members have enacted their PBR laws using the model law. This has brought the discussions on the need to revise the model law to meet the present needs of its member states.

5.2 TRIPS Agreement

The World Trade Organization’s Trade-Related Intellectual Property Agreement⁸ obliges its signatories to provide for such intellectual property protection in their laws, and sets out the minimum standards that must be contained therein. Plant variety protection is often excluded from lists of intellectual property categories. However, the adoption of the TRIPS Agreement has done more to encourage the legal protection of plant varieties than any other international agreement. As the Plant Variety Protection (PVP) debate has continued, a school of thought has evolved that considers it a form of industrial property right.

The TRIPS Agreement does not require that a specific system be put into place to secure intellectual property rights for plant varieties. The Agreement mandates its signatories to provide patent protection for any invention in all fields of technology, provided that the inventions are “new, involve an inventive step and are capable of industrial application”. Such protection for plant varieties is covered by Article 27.3 (b) of the Agreement which partly states the protection is to be provided “...either by patents, or by an effective sui generis system or by any combination thereof”. This means that the range of options is unlimited, provided some requirements are met. This also means that WTO member states, including

Tanzania are allowed to develop legislation that takes into account its unique features. Furthermore Article 27.3 (b) of the Agreement states that members may exclude from patentability “plants and animals other than micro-organisms, and essentially biological processes for the production of plants or animals other than non-biological processes. Thus, as presently written, the TRIPS Agreement would permit WTO members to decline to protect plant varieties using the patent method provided they protect such varieties with an effective sui generis plant variety protection system. There is no guidance or agreed formulation as to what constitutes ‘effective’, nor what a sui generis system should entail at minimum. The International Seed Federation (ISF) recommends that countries envisaging the development of such sui generis systems ensure that as a minimum they conform to the requirements of the 1991 Act of the UPOV Convention,

Least Developing Countries (LDCs) such as Tanzania were given an extension until 1 July 2013 to set up the appropriate protection framework under the TRIPS Agreement.

The TRIPS Agreement provides for a review of Article 27.3(b), which began in 1999. Among the topics discussed in the TRIPS Council are:

• How to apply the existing TRIPS provisions on whether or not to patent plants and animals, and whether they need to be modified.
• The meaning of effective protection for new plant varieties
• How to handle moral and ethical issues, for example, to what extent invented life forms should be eligible for protection.
• How to deal with the commercial use of traditional knowledge and genetic material by those other than the communities or countries where these originate, especially when these are the subject of patent applications.
• How to ensure that the TRIPS Agreement and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) support each other.

Most recently discussed are proposals on disclosing the source of biological material and associated traditional knowledge. The African group at WIPO has made a specific proposal on disclosure in patent applications of information on the origin of genetic resources and traditional knowledge on which invention is based.

⁷ http://www.grain.org/brl_files/oau-model-law-en.pdf ⁸ http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_E/TRIPS_e/trips_e.htm

5.3 Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)

The CBD⁹ is the most recent and comprehensive instrument that balances the need for legal protection of intellectual property rights with that of the specific context of developing countries sustainable development agendas. The CBD preamble and its Article 8 recognize both the dependence of local communities on biological resources and the role that they have played in the evolution, conservation, and sustainability of such resources. The Convention calls for the equitable sharing of benefits arising from the use of their traditional knowledge, innovations and practices, relevant to the conservation of biodiversity and the sustainable use of its components. The CBD is not limited to plants but to all biological resources. The directives contained in the Convention have been included as an important element of the current TRIPS negotiations. Tanzania became a member of the CBD on 8^th March 1996 and is therefore bound and affected by its impact on trade negotiations and potential future WTO amendments. The Convention offers an important setting for information sharing but also resources for technical assistance that Tanzania has been in the process of exploration since it became a member. Tanzania is also a member of the Cartagena protocol on Biosafety since September 2003.

⁹ http://www.cbd.int/convention/ ¹⁰ http://www.planttreaty.org/

5.4 International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (IT-PGRFA)

The International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture¹⁰ is a non-binding instrument which furthers the tenet that plant genetic resources are the common heritage of mankind. The treaty protects the material in gene banks and in farmers’ fields from being directly patented and encourages countries to protect farmer’s rights. Negotiations for a revision of some of the articles pertaining to farmer’s rights have caused some controversy as the draft provisions emphasize acknowledgment of the role of farmer’s

to agricultural management rather than their rights. The treaty focuses on aspects such as the protection of traditional knowledge and the equitable sharing of benefits arising from the exploitation of biological resources, proposing a multilateral system that facilitates access to genetic resources and sharing of benefits without any monopolies. The Treaty steers countries towards the recognition of the need to give farmers control over their knowledge for reasons of justice as well as to foster sustainable use and conservation of plant genetic resources. Nonetheless, it leaves member states free to decide on the most appropriate framework for them.

Under Article 27, the Treaty is open for accession by all Members of FAO and any States that are not Members of FAO but are Members of the United Nations, or any of its specialized agencies or of the International Atomic Energy Agency. The Treaty entered into force the 29 June 2004. Tanzania is a member of the treaty of which it acceded on 30^th April, 2004 and has now initiated a process of enacting a law to domesticate it.

5.5 The UPOV Model and its Membership

The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants¹¹, known as “UPOV,” is an intergovernmental organization with headquarters in Geneva. The acronym UPOV is derived from the French name of the organization, Union Internationale pour la Protection des Obtentions Végétales.

The mission of UPOV is to provide and promote an effective system of plant variety protection, with the aim of encouraging the development of new varieties of plants, for the benefit of the society.

The purpose of the UPOV Convention is to ensure that the members of the Union acknowledge the achievements of breeders of new varieties of plants, by granting to them an intellectual property right, on the basis of a set of clearly defined principles. To be eligible for protection, varieties have to be (i) distinct from existing, commonly known varieties, (ii) sufficiently uniform, (iii) stable and (iv) new in the sense that they must not have been commercialized prior to certain dates established by reference to the date of the application for protection.

The UPOV Convention sets out a minimum scope of protection and offers members the possibility of taking national or regional circumstances into account in their legislation. Like all intellectual property rights, plant breeders’ rights are granted for a limited period of time, which is twenty five years for trees and vine and twenty years for other plants respectively, at the end of which varieties protected by them pass into the public domain. The rights are also subject to controls, in the public interest, against any possible abuse.

Under the 1991 UPOV Convention, a breeder is defined as the person who breeds, or discovers and develops, a variety. Therefore, protection is not limited to a breeder in the sense of someone who produces a variety as a result of crossing parent plants and selecting from the progeny. The term breeder also includes a person who discovers a mutation or a chance seedling and then by a process of selective propagation (development) converts that discovery into a cultivated variety. Discovery by itself is therefore not sufficient and the breeder must also have had an input of development.

Many countries that have joined UPOV have reported increases in plant breeding activities with direct effects upon their agricultural and horticultural industries. They have reported increases in the range of varieties made available to farmers and growers as well as increased investments in agriculture. In Argentina for example, the number of PVP grants to foreign breeders, increased following the amendment of the national PVP law to comply with UPOV. The number of granted titles more than trebled in 10 years since the country became a UPOV member, that is, from 17 to 62 (355 percent). The increase in number of foreign titles was more evident in important agricultural crops (such as soybean, roses, strawberry and Lucerne), for which improved varieties are important for competitiveness in the global market. In China, farmers have greatly benefited from the introduction of a PVP system and in

¹¹ http://www.upov.int/index_en.html

particular with UPOV membership. They have seen the development of a number of new varieties of the most important agricultural crops such as maize, rice, wheat, soybean and oilseed rape. The number of PVP grants in China increased from 39 to 261, one year after joining UPOV. These examples demonstrate that with suitable PVP laws, returns from breeding activities can be potentially reinvested in crop improvement activities. This could contribute to the development and release of many more new varieties, particularly in Africa where most of the breeding activities are inadequately funded from public coffers. The UPOV plant variety protection system provides breeders with an incentive to properly maintain their varieties and ensure that authentic propagating material is available to users (including others breeders) to breed further varieties, thus serving as a genetic resource.

Currently UPOV has 66 members and more than 18 applications for membership are being processed. In Africa there are four members (South Africa, Kenya, Morocco and Tunisia). Zimbabwe application is under consideration as well as collective application of 16 West African states under OAPI.

6.1 Need for a Plant Breeders’ Rights system

The seed industry in Tanzania needs the active participation of private sector. The role of the private sector in agricultural development has been recognized in several government documents such as the Poverty Reduction Strategy (RSP)¹², the Vision 2025¹³, and in particular, the Agricultural Development Policy of 1997¹⁴ and the Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (ASDS) of 2001¹⁵.

A well-functioning seed industry requires a suitable legal and institutional framework that could serve as a catalyst to seed trade under a free market economy,

The objective or main purpose of the Tanzanian Plant Breeders’ Rights Act, as provided in its long title, is “to provide for the protection of new plant varieties in order to promote plant breeding activities that will stimulate, facilitate and improve agricultural research in the country, through the grant and regulations of plant breeder’s rights and the establishment of a plant breeder’s rights registry, which is entrusted with the obligations of granting plant breeders rights”.

The government decided to put in place a plant variety protection framework after conducting a study to establish whether or not it was necessary. The study was conducted in 1995/96 with technical assistance from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The study¹⁶ produced a number of recommendations after the FAO consultants had met and discussed with all stakeholders including government officials from relevant ministries, public and university plant breeders, seed companies and other stakeholders that it was right time for the country to introduce a legal framework to regulate granting of plant breeders’ rights. The study also recommended that the legal framework should establishment an independent PBR Office that will be based at the ministry responsible for agriculture. Most stakeholders had supported the idea of establishment of a plant variety protection system in Tanzania because they believed that it would contribute to increase in number of improved varieties as well as investment in agriculture sector in general.

Following the revelation of the findings of the study, the government took sufficient time to discuss and finally accepted the recommendations and started the process of establishing the legal system for the protection of plant breeders’ rights. The process involved holding discussions with stakeholders on the formulation of a draft law before a bill was submitted to the National Assembly (Parliament) for final decision. The government and

¹² Tanzania Poverty Reduction Strategy of 2001 ¹³ Tanzania Development Vision 2025 of 2000 ¹⁴ Agricultural Development Policy of 1997 ¹⁵ Agricultural Sector Development Strategy (ASDS) of 2001 ¹⁶ FAO 1996. Study on the need for a plant variety protection system in Tanzania

stakeholders had expected that the system would confer the following advantages to Tanzania:

• To assist in providing sustainable compensation for long years of involvement in developing and testing new varieties;
• To provide an incentive to local (public and private) and international breeders to involve themselves fully in plant breeding in the country, therefore providing farmers with high quality varieties;
• To provide incentives for increased investments in seed production, horticulture and agriculture in general;
• To facilitate technology generation and transfer through shared breeding and licensing;

It is important to note that before and after the Bill was submitted to the Parliament, no stakeholder including the non-governmental organizations had objected to the idea of introducing the plant variety protection system. To some extent this may have been attributed to the lack of sufficient knowledge on the impact of the system and lack of a proven example of any negative impact in African countries practicing the system.

6.2 PBR Legislation

6.3 Institutional framework

Section 5 of the PBR Act establishes an independent plant variety protection office within the ministry responsible for agriculture known as the Plant Breeders’ Rights Registry which is responsible for administration of plant variety protection system. The independence of the arrangement is designed to provide a neutral and efficient body within the government structure to administrate PVP issues. The office falls under the Ministry of Agriculture Food Security and Cooperatives due to the fact that the Ministry is more placed to deal with plant variety matters than any other government Ministry. Section 4 of the Plant Breeders Rights empowers the Minister to appoint the Registrar who heads the Plant Breeders’ Rights Office. The main functions of the Registrar include:

• Granting of plant breeders rights
• Maintaining a register of plant breeders’ rights
• Maintaining a documentation centre for public scrutiny and access on plant breeders’ rights information
• Facilitation of transfer and PBR licensing, and
• Collaborates with national and international bodies on PBR matters
• Working as the Secretariat of the Plant Breeders’ Rights Fund.

Section 10 of the PBR Act establishes the Plant Breeders Rights Advisory Committee comprising of members representing all major stakeholders of the plant breeders’ rights system including representatives of farmers and seed producers. Its major functions are:

• To advice the Minister on the enforcement of the Act;
• To receive Reports from the Registrar on the grant of PBR;
• To make expert consideration on the grant of PBR reports and tests leading to the grant;
• To advise the Registrar on the grant of PBR.

In addition, section 48 of the Act establishes the Plant Breeders Rights Development Fund which is administered by the Plant Breeders Rights Advisory Committee. The main objective of the fund is to give grants to private and public breeders to enable them develop varieties that meet conditions for protection.

6.4 Plant Breeders Rights Development Fund

The Plant Breeders Rights Development Fund became operational towards the end of 2007 after the Ministries responsible for agricultural matters and Finance agreed to establish the Fund as required by the Law. In addition to application fees that are paid to the Fund, the government has been contributing an average of US $ 55,000 annually as seed money. This amount is not sufficient to support the intended objective of supporting interested plant breeders to initiate or finalize on going plant breeding work. The Fund is currently processing 2 applications for grant to support plant breeding and related activities. The money has enabled the Fund to put in place a system that will be used to meet its intended goals. The funds have also been used to create awareness among beneficiaries as well as potential public and private donors who have promised to start contributing to the Fund in the near future.

6.5 Achievements and Challenges

The PBR system in Tanzania effectively started in January 2005 when the PBR Office was established following appointment of the Registrar as required by law. The Law does not provide for the minimum qualifications that the candidate for the position of the Registrar must possess. Based on the qualifications possessed by the incumbent Registrar it is evident that the Minister used his powers to appoint some one who has sufficient knowledge in plant breeding and seed technology and who has some basic knowledge and experiences of legal matters. These qualifications and good connections with local and international players in the fields of plant breeding, seed technology and plant variety protection have greatly contributed to a good start and steady progress made by the PBR Office in Tanzania.

Before a variety is protected as required by the PBR Act, the office conducts administrative and technical assessments. Administrative assessments include checking for correctness of application forms, verification for novelty of a particular variety and payment of application fees as shown table 2.

Table 2. Prescribed Fees and related Charges

6.6 Participation of Stakeholders in the Administration of PBR Act

The Ministry of Agriculture Food Security and Cooperatives, through the Plant Breeders’ Rights Office, has continuously involved major stakeholders in running the office as well as in the process of improving operations of the office to implement the PBR Act. In the day to day administration of the PBR Act the stakeholders are involved through the PBR Advisory Committee which is composed of members representing various stakeholders. The Committee meets four times annually. Furthermore stakeholders are always involved before any major decision is made. Any matter that needs serious decisions is brought to the attention of the Committee where different opinions are discussed and conclusions submitted to the government for final decision. Between 2006 and 2008 the PBR Office has conducted three stakeholders’ workshops to discuss the implementations of the PBR Act. The participants to the workshops included representatives of relevant government ministries, representatives of Plant Breeders’ Association of Tanzania (PBAT), Tanzania Horticultural Association (TAHA) and Tanzania Seed Trade Association (TASTA). One of the most important workshops was the one held in April 2007¹⁹ to discuss report of an international study commissioned by TAHA in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture to assess stakeholder’s satisfaction with the processes of implementing the PBR Act. Another important workshop was organized by the PBR Office in November 2008 to discuss the issue of UPOV membership²⁰. During this workshop, as it came out in other stakeholders’ workshops, it was agreed that there is a need for the country to join UPOV in order to fully realize the benefits of the plant variety protection system. The opinion has been presented to the government through the Ministry responsible for agriculture and the process has already been initiated to obtain Cabinet and Parliament approval to accede UPOV Convention of 1991 and also amend the Act to comply with the requirements of the Convention.

Stakeholders were also involved during the process of developing an acceptable system for licensing of the protected public varieties to end users where draft ministerial policy paper and guidelines are now being improved through discussions with stakeholders. The policy paper is intended to put forward the procedure that will be followed to grant license to any applicant whishing to commercialize plant varieties developed and protected by government research institutions. The paper will also give formulae that will be used to charge royalties for such varieties. The ministerial guidelines will guide government institutions on how to use and share benefits arising from licensing of public varieties among institutions and individuals who contributed in one way or another in developing a particular variety.

During the initial workshops and visits to meet individual stakeholders, it was observed that the level of awareness on the existence and provisions of the Plant Breeders’ Rights Act was very low among many stakeholders including local and foreign breeders and seed producers. However as the frequency of contacts between the officials of the Plant Breeders Rights Office and the stakeholders increased their awareness on the matter also went up. Stakeholders’ and general public awareness was also raised through distribution of PBR brochures and leaflets as well as through the media. It was however noted that more resources are needed to enable the office to prepare and disseminate different types of communication materials. As for foreign beneficiaries such as plant breeders, it has been leant that their awareness will be effectively raised when the country joins and follows the UPOV system of plant variety protection

¹⁹ Proceedings of the TAHA Stakeholders’ Workshop on PVP held in April in Arusha ²⁰ Proceedings of the PBR Stakeholders’ Workshop on UPOV membership held in November 2008 in Kibaha

6.7 Regional and International Collaboration

The Plant Breeders Rights Office has established links with similar authorities in a number of countries which are implementing or are in the process of implementing plant variety protection regimes as well as international organizations related to intellectual property rights matters. As soon as the Office was established its officials were sent to Kenya and South Africa to get practical experiences from these countries which have been practicing the system for more than fifteen years. The officials and technicians of the Office have also attended courses on how to manage intellectual properties in Sweden and the Netherlands. In addition to bilateral links the office has also established useful links with international organization such as UPOV, CAS-IP and AVRDC World Vegetable Centre.

The PBR Office has also been actively involved in the process of establishing a regional plant breeders’ rights system for the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) which is made up of fourteen member states. A draft PBR protocol has been developed and is waiting for approval of the higher authority of the organization. The protocol is intended to establish a SADC Plant Breeders’ Rights Office that will be able to grant rights that that will be honoured in all member countries. This kind of arrangements has been very successfully practiced by European Union where as one PBR office grants a right that is honoured in all member states. The Office has also participated in the process of harmonizing seed policies and legislation in Eastern and Central African countries. Recently the office is coordinating efforts to expand these initiatives to include all 20 members’ states of African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO). All these initiatives are aimed at reducing the cost of running a PBR system and increasing investments opportunities in the region.

The Office has also used its experiences to assist other neighboring countries who are in the process of establishing legal and institutional frameworks for the protection of plant variety. A good example of this kind of cooperation is the recent assistance extended to Zambia by organizing a tour for officials of the Seed Control and Certification Institute which is designated to oversee implementation of the country’s PBR Act. In October 2008, expert from the Tanzanian PBR Office was also involved in developing draft Regulations for the operationalization of the Zambian PBR Act.

The PBR Office has initiated contacts with PBR Authorities of a number of countries including Kenya, South Africa and the Netherlands to facilitate cooperation and exchange of DUS test results in the near future.