09 Jul 2023

The bill on the protection of new plant varieties opens new opportunities for plant breeders in the country.

Minister of Agriculture, Mr Fidelis Molao said this Thursday after MPs overwhelmingly supported the Protection of New Plant Protection Varieties Bill of 2022.

He said the bill afforded local breeders an opportunity to invest on plant breeding as many had been disadvantaged by lack of protection of their intellectual property, which the new bill would introduce.

The minister further said the bill was also an opportunity to lure foreign inventors into the country as they too would be confident that their knowledge was protected.

He said international plant breeders had been sceptical to come into the country due to lack of protection of their research and knowledge.

In addition, the minister said the bill showed the intention of government to lead the country to a knowledge based economy and consequently upgrade from a middle-income country to a high-income country.

He added that it was government’s desire that by 2036 the country should have attained high-income status.

The minister further told Parliament that his ministry was on the process of formulating a bio-security law by the end of the year to support the Protection of New Plant Protection Varieties law.

The minister said the bill aimed to grant and protect breeders rights and to  establish a plant breeders office as well as to grant licenses of plant breeders right and the appointment of registrar for administrating the enactment.

Debating the bill, Member of Parliament for Ghanzi South, Mr Motsamai Motsamai supported the bill, saying it addressed issues affecting people’s livelihood.

However, he said although the bill was relevant and of necessity, there was a need for the ministry to ensure that it would be implementable.

Mr Motsamai said a good law without being implemented was not good at all.

While MP for Francistown South, Mr Wynter Mmolotsi said all over the world, weather patterns had changed hence the need to invest in research and development.

He said there was a need for continues research to come up with plants that could adapt to the country’s climate as well as resistant to weeds and pests.

He noted that research was an expensive exercise and that researchers intellectual property needed to be protected, adding that it would even lure investors into the country.

Mr Mmolotsi also said the bill would address issues of food security faced by the country. He added that research was core to food production.

The Protection of New Plants Protection Varieties Bill seeks to make the country comply with requirements set out in the World Trade Organisation’s agreement on trade related aspects of intellectual property rights relating to the protection of intellectual rights which it ratified on May 1995. Ends