Advancing Farmer-Centred Innovations Amidst Marginalization in Nigeria’s Seed Laws and Plant Variety Protection Regime
Queen Mary Journal of Intellectual Property
(April 2026)
Titilayo Adebola, Chidi Oguamanam
This article is published in the Queen Mary Journal of Intellectual Property, Volume 16, Issue 1.
In the wake of the entry into force of Nigeria’s first plant variety protection law, this paper interrogates the extent to which farmers’ innovations are recognized, rewarded or marginalized within Nigeria’s seed and plant variety protection regimes. Through a critical doctrinal analysis, the paper rigorously unpacks Nigeria’s National Agricultural Seeds Council Act, National Crop Varieties and Livestock Breeds Act, and Plant Variety Protection Act to reveal the gaps within the country’s legal architecture for seeds and plant varieties that marginalize farmers. The paper principally argues for the introduction of inclusive legal regimes that integrate farmers’ inputs. It concludes by drawing pertinent lessons from India and the African Model Law for the Protection of the Rights of Local Communities, Farmers, and Breeders, and for the Regulation of Access to Biological Resources, which recognize and reward farmers’ innovation.