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SETTING THE BOUNDARIES

Linking farmers to markets through valorisation of local resources: The case for intellectual property rights of indigenous resources

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Linking farmers to markets through valorisation of local resources: The case for intellectual property rights of indigenous resources

South Africa / Namibia

· University of Pretoria
· Western Cape Department of Agriculture, South Africa
· CIRAD ES
· Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, Office of Permanent Secretary, Namibia
· Ministry of Agriculture, Water and Forestry, Indigenous Plant Task Team, Namibia
· Scientific Roets consulting
· South African Rooibos Council
· South African Honeybush Tea Association
· CRIAA SA-DC
· Camdeboo mohair company
· Kalahari melon seed oil women cooperatives

Karakul Board of Namibia

September 2005 – April 2008

· To develop Southern African case studies on the interaction between local culture, geography and human activity in the development of agricultural products with unique characteristics

· To develop the case study(ies) of the strongest product(s) to such a level that it could be submitted to both the South African and Namibian National Governments and the EU as GIs

To strengthen local communities' capacity to a) assess the role and potential of IPRs given their own local resources and development strategies, b) deliver insights for the design of the recommended legislative framework and c) exploit the opportunities for financial gain

To evaluate the current legal and institutional framework and to assess the need for an alternative legal and institutional framework in order to make recommendations that will enhance the ability of resource-poor farmers to qualify their specific agro-food production and benefit from its commercialization

Research process based on evidences from selected case studies.

Participatory research process involving industry and government representatives

(a) Characterization of case studies with GI potential and preparation for submission as GIs of at least one product

(b) Participatory capacity building on intellectual property of indigenous resources

Context	Problems	Previous attempts
In Southern Africa, GIs have not yet been implemented and there is no sui generis legal framework for their implementation. If the concept is not totally novel in South Africa where it has been introduced over the past few years, especially through an initiative of the Western Cape Department of Agriculture, it is new in Namibia; and there is a strong need to create awareness and build capacity in both countries. There is a clear lack of collective action both at local and national level for improving agricultural production, commercialization and competitiveness. Commercial farmers are accustomed to acting on an individual basis, and emerging and resource poor farmers are generally poorly involved in local farmers’ organizations.	Many poor communities in rural areas of Southern Africa own a rich diversity of traditional knowledge and indigenous resources and produce agro-food products based on local resources. Considering that many of them have a given quality, reputation or other characteristic essentially attributable to their geographical origin, labeling and protection through a geographical indication (GI) could apply to them. Nevertheless, rural communities in the SADC region generally market low value products or raw materials. Where differentiated products do exist, they are often the result of the initiative of medium or large-scale farmers and enterprises.	to the DURAS IPR project was that launched between four of the nine provinces of South Africa (Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Northern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal) to evaluate and enhance the current protection system for indigenous and cultural intellectual property in South Africa. As part of this evaluation a number of case studies were considered. These included Honeybush Tea, Klein Karoo Ostrich, Albertinia Aloe Verox, KwaZulu-Natal Amadumbe. It was found that, from a Provincial perspective, adequate protection is not provided.

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