Nigeria Targets $2bn From PVP Act Implementation

It is expected that Nigeria may generate over $2billiion within 5years of implementing the Plant Variety Protection (PVP) Act, a law that protects intellectual property of plant breeders in the country.

Director General of the National Agricultural Seed Council (NASC), Dr Philip Ojo, while speaking in Abuja, said the recently signed legal instrument would among others, attract foreign direct investments into the county as well as guarantee the protection of breeders from intellectual theft.

Ojo said, the Act seeks to ensure plant breeders get remuneration for their investments, adding that the government wants to see a situation whereby farmers begin to access the best genetics not only in Nigeria but also across the world.

According to him, with the law in place, “Nigerians will begin to see on our farmers’ field yielding stress tolerant, disease resistant, climate smart and input efficient varieties which will be introduced by innovative breeders both from the public and the private sector in few years to come.

“We will begin to witness efficient land use and reduced food cost as a result of the increased productivity from cultivated hectares across the country”.

Admitting that prices of improved new seed variety might go up given the private sector participation, he said its nothing compared with the increased yield farmers would begin to get on their land.

He said other developed countries are producing 10-15 tonnes of yield per hectare; a feat, he seeks for Nigerian farmers.

To enhance implementation of the bill, Ojo said NASC is setting up a functional PVP office that will be capable of receiving and processing applications for law.

The Technical Adviser to NASC DG, Dr Folarin Okelola while also affirming that the Act will attract more than $2billion investment into the country, said there would be increased investments in superior genetics that the country does not have as the improved genetics need a lot of technical expertise to develop them.

He pointed out that the reason Nigeria had to import improved seeds is because most of the seeds used in the developed countries are proprietary materials and cannot be brought into the country and multiplied, which is why investors have been sceptical of coming to the country to produce.