Sub-Saharan African countries are currently establishing or updating their Plant Variety Protection regimes through the regional organisations of which they are part. These initiatives are largely modelled on the 1991 Convention of the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV). The 1991 UPOV Convention is claimed to attract more investment in plant breeding, allowing farmers to access a wider range of improved varieties which contributes both to economic development and food security. At the same time, however, these processes have been heavily criticised by civil society organisations for being out of step with Sub-Saharan African agricultural realities, undermining smallholder farmers agricultural practices, farmers’ rights and, ultimately, threatening food security. A new article by Dr. Bram de Jonge discusses three of the main concerns of the civil society organisations in tandem with examples of alternative provisions from PVP systems from around the world. While the article shows that the civil society concerns are not likely to be acted upon, the article aims to answer the pressing question whether the proposed legal regimes will indeed hamper traditional farming practices in developing countries. As it is argued that this question needs to be answered in the affirmative, the article finally explores some legal avenues through which Sub-Saharan countries could establish a legal regime that protects the interests of breeders, in line with the highest international standards, while at the same time protecting and preserving the needs of those who make up the single largest group of farmers in the region – the smallholder farmers. 

B. De Jonge (2014). Plant Variety Protection in Sub-Saharan Africa: Balancing Commercial and Smallholder Farmers’ Interests. Journal of Politics and Law 7(3). pp. 100-111. Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/jpl.v7n3p100