Farmers, as custodians of indigenous seeds and related traditional knowledge, play a vital role in conserving and developing Africa’s rich agricultural biodiversity while enhancing food sovereignty and food security. Yet, farmers’ rights are systemically undermined by seed laws and policies, intellectual property regimes, and structural inequities that prioritise commercial interests over the lives and livelihoods of small-scale farmers. As the Governing Body and Secretariat of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) work to advance farmers’ rights globally, Africa has a unique opportunity to redefine its food systems.
This interview with Andrew Mushita unpacks the complexities surrounding farmers’ rights on the continent. Mushita reveals the importance of paying careful attention to the political economy of seeds, justice, ownership, control, and the future of African agriculture. He calls for bold actions, including the introduction of laws and policies that promote farmer seed systems in Africa and the celebration of the invaluable contributions and resilience of its farmers. Andrew Mushita is the Executive Director of the Community Technology Development Trust (CTDT). While he is an Agronomist, Andrew has an extensive expertise in all aspects of rural development at various levels, having participated directly in negotiations for several national, regional and international law/policy instruments and dialogues focused on issues related to biodiversity, conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources, environment and climate change, international trade, farmer’s rights, farmer seed systems and their implications to food and nutrition security on smallholder farmers.
Flora IP (FI): What is the African Union doing in relation to Farmers Rights for the Continent?
Andrew Mushita (AM): The African Union is seized with the development of an appropriate policy framework, strategy and action plan to facilitate the recognition and protection of farmer managed seed systems which are complimentary to the formal seed sector. The institution is consulting key stakeholders with a view to develop a Farmer Managed Seed System and Action Plan 2026 – 2035. It has committed to developing a strategy to enhance resilience in Africa’s agricultural systems, by promoting inter alia climate smart technologies, sustainable use of plant genetic resources and sharing of law/policy frameworks. Its main aim is to move towards the development of inclusive seed systems for Africa. Key tensions in the current seed system include struggles over the control and ownership of seeds. The seed industry is currently worth about $ 70 billion per year and by 2030, it would be worth about $ 110 billion per year. These seed multinational companies are all headquartered in the Global North. When the multinationals buy seed companies in Africa, they own all the companies’ germplasm. This trend risks creating a scenario where Africans are limited to conserving and sustainably using plant germplasm, while ownership and control are held by foreigners.
F I: How Can Africa Promote Inclusive Seed Systems?
A M: We can establish complementary seed systems by creatively introducing suitable conditions or standards to register and certify farmers’ seeds. Seed laws and policies must include provisions ensuring seeds are culturally adaptive to our environments and aligned with our food habits. They should also be climate adaptive and gender-sensitive, enabling both men and women to find joy in working with seeds. It is essential for Africans to take ownership and control over our means of food production—starting with the seeds. Articles 5, 6 and 9 of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) set out provisions Africa can draw from. Centres of origin and centres of diversity are in the Global South, but the new technologies and finances are based in the North. That is why we have the Benefit Sharing Fund in the ITPGRFA. Africa has predominantly relied on Eurocentric instruments, particularly based on International Convention on the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) 1991 Act. Africa must introduce home-grown seed laws/policies suited to the continent.
F I: How Would You Conceptualise Farmers Rights through the Lens of Africa?
A M: To start with, farmers rights have to be embedded in our constitutions. Each country should have farmers rights as part of its constitution under the right to food. This should be derived from the conservation and sustainable utilisation of genetic resources. Farmers conserve genetic resources for the benefit of humankind. As such, farmers should not be denied access to their plant genetic materials, they should use those materials for food and nutrition security, they should have the rights to exchange, share and add value to those materials, as they deem fit.
Many African countries have adopted Eurocentric laws and policies that criminalise farmers when they save, use or sell seeds. We should not be criminalising the victims. Farmers are victims of these laws and policies that are denying them access to food. Once plant genetic resources are lost, control of core aspects of food value chains are lost at the same time.
For example, we see this happening with the dematerialisation of seed and digital sequencing. We would then have to depend on those (companies in the Global North) who control the plant genetic resources and technologies.
Laws and policies should support and strengthen farmers to continue owning and controlling their means of production. I do not support the extension of intellectual property rights to farmers varieties because they are monopolies and exclusive rights. Instead, I recommend the registration and certification of farmers varieties, anchored on Consistency, Accessibility and Suitability (CAS) standards. The varieties should be consistent in performance in terms of agronomic characteristic, they should be accessible to farmers as and when needed and they should be suitable to their ecology and cultural norms. Separate complementary regulatory frameworks should be introduced to register and certify farmers seeds. Farmers Seed Systems are complementary to the formal seed systems, which should be regulated differently. In my view, the best way to regulate and manage farmer seed systems is by placing them under national gene banks.
National gene banks promote diversity, like farmer seed systems. We need to diversify our food base. The global food system at the moment relies on a few crops: rice, potatoes, maize and to some extent, sorghum and groundnuts. The crops feeding humanity are less than ten, yet in Africa we have uncountable plant varieties; we have a huge gene pool. Let us make good use of it. This is why if we have droughts in Africa, we are able to bounce back because of our diverse gene pool. How do we define what constitutes food in Africa? Let’s think about challenging and rewriting our narratives about food.
F I: You were involved in negotiations for Farmers Rights and Access and Benefit-Sharing in the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, and related norms and principles in the Convention on Biological Diversity and World Trade Organisation’s Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights. Can you please share what the African position was for these instruments and the actors involved in promoting this position?
A M: We incorporated our positions on farmers rights in the African Model Legislation For The Protection of the Rights Of Local Communities, Farmers And Breeders, And For The Regulation Of Access To Biological Resources (African Model Law). We were trying to work around the flexibility provided in Article 27.3(b) of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). In the 1960s and 1970s, plant genetic resources were considered the common heritage of humankind. Then the Europeans introduced plant breeders rights, but farmers responsible for conserving the varieties had no rights. Global South actors and interested collaborators responded by advocating for a balance, including the recognition and reward of farmers contributions – the inequities and injustices in the legal landscape for plant variety protection triggered the struggle for farmers rights. Forum shifting was a common practice at the international level to push for farmers rights in favourable forums. We had many voices pushing for farmers rights in different forums. For example, we had Melaku Worede (from Ethiopia), Pat Mooney (Canada) and Cary Fowler (U S).
F I : Can Small Scale farmers feed Africa?
A M: Small scale farmers can feed Africa.
Africa has high quality, healthy and nutritious plant varieties, which the Global North wants to access. Consider finger millet and fonio for example, they are some of the world’s most nutritious foods. Finger Millet is rich in calcium; it promotes strong bones and teeth. It is high in iron; it supports healthy blood production, reducing the risk of anaemia. It is also gluten-free, making it suitable for those with gluten intolerance or celiac disease. Fonio is high in amino acids; it contains methionine and cysteine, essential for skin, hair, and overall cellular repair. It is rich in fibre; it improves digestion, reduces cholesterol levels, and aids in weight management. It is rich in micronutrients; it provides zinc, magnesium, and B vitamins, which boost immune function and energy. It is also easily digestible, making it suitable for infants, the elderly, and those with sensitive stomachs.
Notably, there is more than enough food produced in Africa, one of our problems in the African food value chain is distribution. There is a lot of food loss and food waste globally. Our attention should not primarily be on production, we must tackle food loss and food waste. Global North countries are contaminating their soils, the residual effects of the pesticides and other chemicals used to grow and preserve food are consumed, contributing to health complications. What they want to do now is create corridors of food production for exports from African soils, to leverage its fertile and rich soils.
F I: Moving forward, what are your recommendations for Africa?
A M: Africa must come up with specific strategies, action plans and policies to support, strengthen and empower farmers, farming communities and farmer organisations. In Zimbabwe, we now have about 30 community seed/gene banks; every material in every village will be collected and stored in a community seed/gene bank. The surplus goes to the national gene bank. We are also restoring lost plant genetic resources around Zimbabwe. This is what should happen around Africa. There should be a strong movement on the restoration of lost plant genetic resources. We need to construct a clear long-term strategic action plan, which would ensure that Africa does not lose its plant genetic materials. The long-term strategic action plan should also promote farmer-led agricultural research. Thinking forward, 200 years from now, what would we be eating in Africa? Break it down to 100, 50, 20, 10 and 5 years. Africa should also finance its food and agriculture programmes. Until we do that, we will remain highly exposed.
F I: What has driven your sustained commitment to advocating for farmers’ rights over the years?
A M: My passion for the subject drives me as well as the exposure at a very early age to the political dynamics of food and linkages in food ecosystems from local to global contexts. Agriculture is linked to laws/policies, environment, trade and biodiversity amongst others. Linking local food systems to global food systems reveals the political economy involved, including those that are unduly benefitting from the system as well as the injustices and unfairness to our farmers. At the end of the day, I come from a village; my mother and relatives are still there. I need to ensure that they are protected, and their farming knowledge and resources are not just taken away freely.
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