Nigeria has recently joined the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV). President Bola Ahmed Tinubu signed Nigeria’s instrument of accession to the 1991 Act of the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants, with the accession taking effect on March 27, 2025.

Welcoming Nigeria’s accession, the Acting Registrar of the Nigerian Plant Variety Protection (PVP) Office, Mr. Folarin Sunday Okelola stated: “By 2050, the global population is projected to reach 9.1 billion, with Africa –particularly Nigeria – experiencing one of the highest growth rates. As food demand rises, providing farmers with access to high-quality seeds is crucial to ensuring food security. In acceding to UPOV, plant variety protection will drive the continuous development of improved, high-yielding, and climate-resilient crop varieties, benefiting both farmers and the broader agricultural and horticultural sectors.”

UPOV is an intergovernmental organization based in Geneva, dedicated to promoting the development of new plant varieties. The UPOV Convention provides the basis for plant breeders to receive fair remuneration for their work. The UPOV system provides the legal and technical basis for international cooperation in this field and aims to increase the number and availability of improved plant varieties for farmers and growers, through public-private partnerships and investments in agricultural value chains.

UPOV has 80 members covering 99 countries:

African Intellectual Property Organization, Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bolivia (Plurinational State of), Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, Estonia, European Union, Finland, France, Ghana, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Mexico, Montenegro, Morocco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

Source: UPOV website