Zimbabwean Farmers Take a Stand on UPOV to defend Smallholders Rights

Zimbabwean Farmers Take a Stand on UPOV to defend Smallholders Rights

Like countries around the world, Zimbabwe has faced mounting pressure to align its Plant Breeders Rights (PBR) law to the International Union for the Protection of New Plant Varieties (UPOV) 1991 standards – and forgo Farmers Rights. Over the years, the Zimbabwe Smallholder Organic Farmers’ Forum (ZIMSOFF) with its critical nation-wide representation and strong alliances like PELUM Zimbabwe and the My Food Is Zimbabwean campaign partners have kept UPOV at bay. But in 2025 partners raised the alarm over a draft new PBR Bill, which they noted contains new clauses going beyond UPOV91 demands, considerably curtailing Farmers Rights and public interest whilst privileging corporate seed interests. On top of this, a proposed Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the European Union and Zimbabwe is also under review with undue clauses requiring Zimbabwe to join UPOV. The EPA will force Zimbabwe to restrict its laws at the time when Europe is dismantling strict seed regimes, recognising farmers’ roles in breeding for diversity in the face of climate change. SKI worked with our allies in 2025 to engage EU and Zimbabwean leadership on the EPA clauses, submitting widely supported sign-on letters to each.

Against this backdrop, ZIMSOFF and PELUM Zimbabwe have rallied their national networks. Together with strong allies, ZIMSOFF led a national dialogue and campaign strategy meeting in Harare, in early February, serving  as a space to strengthen advocacy capacity, drawing on farmer and faith leadership and policy insights. SKI partners and the national task team will take these outcomes forward, working closely with the Zimbabwean government to uphold Farmers’ Rights and ensure that local seed systems and community interests remain central to national law.