Stakeholders’ Consultation on Farmers’ Rights - African Position Paper

In Africa, traditional agriculture accounts for more than 375 million farmers, of which, 80 to 90% of this farming population are smallholder farmers who depend and rely on and use their own farm-saved seeds. The farmers depend on diversity of cultivated plants to maintain their yields and quality crop production, adapting their farming activities to difficult conditions such as drought. However, the informal seed systems face many challenges today which include the policies and regulatory frameworks that are less supportive to farmers’ customary seed management systems; the intellectual Property Rights (IPRs), and the seed laws and regulations. Within this context, the Stakeholders’ Consultation on Farmers’ Rights in Africa was held in June 2016 to discuss the various challenges and fundamental issues impeding the realization of Farmers’ Rights, as they relate to plant genetic resources for food and agriculture. This report summarizes the three-day stakeholders' consultation meeting.