Knowledge Center Catalog

A comparative analysis of the regulatory framework for public technology dissemination in Nigeria and ECOWAS (Record no. 69638)

MARC details
000 -LEADER
fixed length control field 06617nam a22003737a 4500
001 - CONTROL NUMBER
control field 69638
003 - CONTROL NUMBER IDENTIFIER
control field MX-TxCIM
005 - DATE AND TIME OF LATEST TRANSACTION
control field 20251219094614.0
008 - FIXED-LENGTH DATA ELEMENTS--GENERAL INFORMATION
fixed length control field 251128s2025 ||||op||||00||0|eengdd
040 ## - CATALOGING SOURCE
Original cataloging agency MX-TxCIM
041 ## - LANGUAGE CODE
Language code of text/sound track or separate title eng
100 1# - MAIN ENTRY--PERSONAL NAME
Personal name Kuhlmann, K.
9 (RLIN) 34359
245 12 - TITLE STATEMENT
Title A comparative analysis of the regulatory framework for public technology dissemination in Nigeria and ECOWAS
260 ## - PUBLICATION, DISTRIBUTION, ETC. (IMPRINT)
Place of publication, distribution, etc. [Place of publication not identified] :
Name of publisher, distributor, etc. CIMMYT :
-- New Markets Lab,
Date of publication, distribution, etc. 2025.
300 ## - PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Extent 38 pages
500 ## - GENERAL NOTE
General note Open Access
521 ## - TARGET AUDIENCE NOTE
Target audience note In Nigeria and throughout sub-Saharan Africa, the public sector is heavily involved in crop improvement. Yet, challenges persist with ensuring that publicly developed technologies (crop varieties) reach the market. Regulatory processes and procedures at both the national and regional levels, including rules on variety release and registration and licensing of public varieties for private sector commercialization, will play a direct role in disseminating public varieties within Nigeria and, more broadly, within regional markets. Ultimately, national regulatory systems will impact the ability of public institutions to achieve their mandate of developing new crop varieties for use as a public good. This report is designed to serve as a research compilation and practical guide for National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems (NARES) in Nigeria and their partners, including CG Centers, focused on regulatory issues that affect the dissemination and commercialization of public varieties.1 It addresses a gap in current literature and available guides by highlighting the importance of regulatory processes for public technology dissemination and differences between the regulatory process for variety registration under Nigerian law and rules under the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). It also presents the considerations and tradeoffs related to licensing of public varieties, examining the process for claiming plant breeder’s rights (PBR) in Nigeria, and considerations related to protecting farmers’ varieties. In recent years, Nigeria has made notable progress in updating its legal framework governing varietal release, registration, and plant breeder’s rights (PBR), all of which are vital for the licensing and commercialization of public varieties. The alignment of national regulations with ECOWAS regional seed rules is a significant development. This will facilitate entry of varieties in the ECOWAS Regional Catalog of Plant Species and Varieties (ECOWAS Regional Catalog) and will facilitate the fast-tracking of the registration process for regionally registered varieties, bypassing the need for additional evaluation tests. These improvements hold the potential to expand market access for public varieties listed in the ECOWAS Regional Catalog, providing new avenues for commercialization, including through licensing agreements. However, while there is a growing awareness within the public sector of the processes for registering varieties both nationally and regionally, a considerable knowledge gap remains concerning the connections between these registration processes, licensing strategies, and the plant variety protection (PVP) regulatory framework. This gap hampers the ability to make full use of the updated system, particularly in terms of maximizing licensing opportunities for registered public varieties. Further, both the legal framework for varietal release and the PBR system lack a well-defined regulatory structure, which impedes effective implementation and practical enforcement. Several provisions in the seed law, designed to simplify varietal release, remain without implementing regulations and updated guidelines. For example, the provision for fast-tracking the registration of foreign and regionally registered varieties is still not fully operational, preventing stakeholders from benefiting from the streamlined registration process and the subsequent licensing of qualifying varieties. Another significant issue is that the institution officially designated to manage the varietal release process under the seed law often does not perform this role in practice, creating potential confusion—particularly for new investors entering the sector. This misalignment creates administrative complexities and undermines the coherence of the system, which could discourage potential stakeholders, including seed companies and farmers, from fully engaging with the regulatory framework. Moreover, the absence of regulations under the PVP law has left public varieties unprotected, undermining their ability to benefit from the additional layer of protection that PBR offers against unauthorized use. This regulatory gap further weakens the ability of public institutions to commercialize and safeguard their plant varieties effectively. These gaps in the regulatory framework are impeding the effective implementation of varietal release, registration, and PBR systems. To address these challenges, it is critical to enact the missing regulations and strengthen the capacity of relevant institutions to enforce and oversee these processes. For ease of navigation and to ensure greater clarity for stakeholders, this report utilizes Regulatory Systems Maps (RSMs) as empirical tools. These maps provide a detailed, step-by-step guide to navigating the regulatory processes for varietal release both in Nigeria and at the regional ECOWAS level. By outlining the procedural flow of regulatory activities, RSMs can assist in identifying areas of inefficiency or ambiguity, helping to streamline the regulatory environment and enhance transparency and effectiveness across the entire system.
546 ## - LANGUAGE NOTE
Language note Text in English
597 ## - CGIAR Initiative
Donor or Funder CGIAR Trust Fund
Program & Accelerators Breeding for Tomorrow
CGSpace handle https://hdl.handle.net/10568/178822
650 #7 - SUBJECT ADDED ENTRY--TOPICAL TERM
Topical term or geographic name as entry element Regulations
Source of heading or term AGROVOC
9 (RLIN) 11915
650 #7 - SUBJECT ADDED ENTRY--TOPICAL TERM
Topical term or geographic name as entry element Seed systems
Source of heading or term AGROVOC
9 (RLIN) 19811
650 #7 - SUBJECT ADDED ENTRY--TOPICAL TERM
Topical term or geographic name as entry element Varieties
Source of heading or term AGROVOC
9 (RLIN) 1303
650 #7 - SUBJECT ADDED ENTRY--TOPICAL TERM
Topical term or geographic name as entry element Public sector
Source of heading or term AGROVOC
9 (RLIN) 15055
650 #7 - SUBJECT ADDED ENTRY--TOPICAL TERM
Topical term or geographic name as entry element Licences
Source of heading or term AGROVOC
9 (RLIN) 6644
651 #7 - SUBJECT ADDED ENTRY--GEOGRAPHIC NAME
Geographic name Nigeria
Source of heading or term AGROVOC
9 (RLIN) 4370
651 #7 - SUBJECT ADDED ENTRY--GEOGRAPHIC NAME
Geographic name West Africa
Source of heading or term AGROVOC
9 (RLIN) 4388
700 0# - ADDED ENTRY--PERSONAL NAME
Personal name Adron Naggayi Nalinya
9 (RLIN) 34361
700 0# - ADDED ENTRY--PERSONAL NAME
Personal name Folarin Sunday Okelola
9 (RLIN) 40745
700 1# - ADDED ENTRY--PERSONAL NAME
Personal name Puozaa, D.K.
Miscellaneous information Dryland Crops Program
Field link and sequence number 001714057
9 (RLIN) 31913
700 1# - ADDED ENTRY--PERSONAL NAME
Personal name Gichuru, L.
Field link and sequence number 001713856
Miscellaneous information Genetic Resources Program
-- Dryland Crops Program
9 (RLIN) 12201
700 1# - ADDED ENTRY--PERSONAL NAME
Field link and sequence number 001712848
Personal name Ojiewo, C.O.
Miscellaneous information Genetics Resource Program
-- Dryland Crops Program
9 (RLIN) 29311
856 4# - ELECTRONIC LOCATION AND ACCESS
Link text Open Access through DSpace
Uniform Resource Identifier https://hdl.handle.net/10883/36244
942 ## - ADDED ENTRY ELEMENTS (KOHA)
Koha item type Report
Suppress in OPAC No
Source of classification or shelving scheme Dewey Decimal Classification
Holdings
Date last seen Total Checkouts Price effective from Koha item type Lost status Source of classification or shelving scheme Damaged status Not for loan Collection code Withdrawn status Home library Current library Date acquired
11/28/2025   11/28/2025 Report Not Lost Dewey Decimal Classification     CIMMYT Publications Collection   CIMMYT Knowledge Center: John Woolston Library CIMMYT Knowledge Center: John Woolston Library 11/28/2025

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