a continetal strategy and an action plan

1. DEVELOPMENT OF GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS
IN THE AFRICAN UNION COUNTRIES: A
CONTINENTAL STRATEGY AND AN ACTION PLAN
VALIDATION WORKSHOP
22-25 November 2016 – Nairobi, Kenya

2. Why a Continental strategy for
Geographical Indications (GIs)?
Diana Akullo

3. GIs fits Africa
 Africa: very rich natural resources and biocultural diversity.
Assests to be preserved and promoted
 GIs: products with specific characteristics, qualities or
reputation, from their geographical origin
 Unique local features, history, natural and human factors, local
know-how and tradition
 GIs can be used as a tool
 for rural and sustainable development
 to valorize food and non-food products
 to enhance exchanges among stakeholders at infra-national levels
 to preserve and promote traditional products in local markets
 to better position African export products on international markets
 to create incomes for farmers and other stakeholders in the value chain

4. A growing interest on GIs on the Continent
 Ministerial Conference in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, 2005,
with OAPI Member States. Declaration and Action Plan to
establish GI National Committees and GIs focus points
 GI-related trainings and awareness-raising events organised
in Africa since the past 20 years
 Technical assistance projects to support GI development
 Studies on potentials that led to the identification of a great
number of products
 Action research and case studies

5. A political momentum
A GI strategy for the Continent is in line with existing institutional
frameworks, at the international level and within the African
Union vision:
 Sustainable Development Goals, especially 2 and 12
 Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme
(CAADP)
 The Malabo Declaration
 The Aspirations of Agenda 2063
 The Eight AUC Priorities, 2014-2017 Strategic Plan
 DREA Key Result Areas

6. The formulation process of the strategy
 The African Union Commission (AUC) under the joint Africa-EU
partnership, organized a consultative training on GIs in
Nairobi, Kenya, in November 2014. Main output : the first draft
outline for a continental strategy on GIs.
 The DREA contacted FAO HQ (Quality and Origin team) in
2015 to organize the technical support to draft the strategy.
 A first proposal of the strategy was drafted by a working
group made of AUC, FAO and GRET representatives
(February-March 2016).
 e-consultations were organized in April 2016: around 100
experts and stakeholders completed the draft proposal to
revise or complete the background information and give
inputs to the content.

7. The formulation process of the strategy
 Validation workshop of the strategy, the 31st May-1st June
2016, in Cotonou, Benin
 Technical workshop, 22-25 November 2016, Nairobi, Kenya:
presentation of the Strategy to the African Union Member
States at the institutional level and drafting of the Action Plan
 Next steps:
 Political endorsement of the strategy by the African Union
Commission
 Improvement (e-consultation process) and validation of
the Action Plan

8. The content of the strategy
Introduction: why a continental strategy for GIs in Africa ?
Background and issues to be addressed:
 GIs as a tool for sustainable rural development: diagnosis and
recommendations
 Existing legal and institutional framework: diagnosis and
recommendations

9. The content of the strategy
The GI Continental Policy Framework
 Vision
 Mission
 Goal
 Core values
 Guiding principles
 Objectives and outcomes

10. Recommendations from the draft strategy
Catherine Teyssier
Monique Bagal

11. An African approach for GIs: linking products,
places and people
GI development in Africa can increase food security, being a driver to
address many development issues, by two means:
 When GI products are for export markets or intra-African trade:
 By improving farmers and other value chain stakeholders income
through linkages to remunerative markets with mechanisms to ensure
equitable sharing of benefit from GIs.
 By improving ‘access to market’ information systems, encouraging
mutual recognition or harmonization of rules between African
countries, and encouraging economic partnerships.
 The African GI approach should integrate as much as possible fair
trade principles and certification, and the two certification systems
could be merged or made compatible.

12. An African approach for GIs: linking products,
places and people
GI development in Africa can increase food security, being a driver to
address many development issues, by two means:
 When GI products are for local or regional markets, the African GI
approach should take into consideration that:
 They are traditional products (linked to local varieties and races,
traditional production methods, traditional recipes, with ethnic know-
how…) with very localized markets (low volume of production)
 They should be accessible to the majority of consumers
 The cost of third certification on local markets, where local
communities or public authorities lack resources, is too heavy: could
an African guarantee participative system be defined and officially
recognized?

13. An African approach for GIs: linking products,
places and people
 Transboundary issues: a number of GI products as a result of their link to a
large community or specific to a natural area can be found in different
African countries (ecosystems or sociocultural groups may span over
several countries): could the regional institutions in charge of GIs together
with the RECs develop regional GIs in Africa with a facilitated/specific
procedure?
 A specific GI process and framework should be designed for handicrafts,
strongly linked to ethnic or cultural groups that are now dispersed over
wide areas (without a strong link to the physical territory)
 Specific traditional agricultural systems linked to particular ecosystems
(pastoralism, oasis, flood plains agro-fisheries, numerous agro-forestry
systems, etc.): could specific linkages be created between GI strategies
and UN projects for remarkable site or intangible material recognition?

14. An African approach for GIs: raising awareness
and building capacities
 Building on existing experiences and capacities developed and
allowing this knowledge to be spread out, thanks to a permanent
dialogue on national, regional and continental multi-stakeholders
and multi-sectorial platforms (public authorities in different domains –
IP, agriculture, food, etc.-, farmers platforms, market actors, etc.),
giving the lead to African stakeholders while partnering with key
players internationally (e.g. oriGIn, Slow food, IFOAM etc.)
 Raising awareness of the different stakeholders in African countries
(economic actors, public authorities, consumers), disseminating
information, building capacities and encouraging public actors to
promote GI processes as a tool for sustainable rural development
(protection and support policies) by mainstreaming these topics in
national policies

15. An African approach for GIs: research,
inclusiveness and pilot projects
Implementing GI development projects to address general
development issues and GI ones through pilots:
importance of inclusiveness (facilitating small holders
organization so they can defend their interests, focus on
the roles of women and young) and of environmental
sustainability (preservation of natural resources necessary
for the long run GI process success, importance of climate
change resilience)
Implementing consultation/negotiation mechanisms,
between the various stakeholders involved in the GI
process (including producers, State and local
governments representatives and buyers / exporters) to
build a compromise acceptable for all

16. An African approach for GIs: research,
inclusiveness and pilot projects
Developing specific research for the African
context to help designing appropriate programs,
tools and methods, including identification of GI
products in all the countries (inventories of
heritage and potentialities), providing product
and market innovation together with the
maintenance of the product specificity and
identity; and encouraging diffusion of these
templates through extension services.

17. An African approach for GIs: legal and
institutional recommendations
 On the framework of protection:
 While States have a lot of discretion about the options of protection for
origin-products provided they are compliant to TRIPS, African States shall
ensure availability of the two main tools of protection of geographical
names namely, sui generis system and trademark law including
certification trademark. Such availability facilitates choices that address
the particular need of GI operators.
 Where a separate system on the protection exists (sui generis) attention
should be given to the scope of the protection in order to ensure that
the names cannot be translated or delocalized but also that they
cannot become generic.
 As stated before, information on the tools and benefits of GI protection
should be disseminated through various media.

18. An African approach for GIs: legal and
institutional recommendations
 On capacity-building:
 GIs in Africa tend to expand since the last decade. However,
Capacity challenges continue to delay African’s countries attempts
to make all their GI regimes development-friendly.
 From a legal point of view, on the top of a specific service in charge
of GI protection within intellectual property offices, consideration
should be given to enforce an advisory body which could be in
charge of informing industries and producer groups of the potential
of a GI, facilitate training of young people on the principles of GI,
create consumer and trade awareness on GI, backstop the efforts
of public authorities on repression of fraud.

19. An African approach for GIs: legal and
institutional recommendations
 On capacity-building:
 Considering building new capacities for the legal enforcement of
GIs in Africa is costly, it is deemed necessary to assess the feasibility
and relevancy of a renewal fee for sui generis GIs.
 Repression of fraud remains a challenge, among others, on the
African continent. African authorities shall liaise and spell out in
detail the role that they, regional economic communities and the
African Union, should perform. Proposals may range from a common
register for GIs to customs cooperation but also convergence of
working methods of local agencies in charge of repression of fraud.

20. An African approach for GIs: legal and
institutional recommendations
 Regarding international protection:
 Adherence to existing international registers (Madrid, Geneva) and
other alternatives or interesting routes to international protection of
African names (EPA) shall be, where missing, integrated in the
strategy of protection of African names abroad. In this regard, the
different interests have to be carefully balanced.
 It is recalled that Madrid and Lisbon system allow the possibility for
international organizations (OAPI, ARIPO) to become parties to the
register which allows immediate benefits to their member States in
one go.

21. A strategy for Geographical Indications in
Africa: the Policy Framework
Diana Akullo

22. Main objective
 This policy framework is formulated to provide guidance to the AU,
RECs, regional institutions in charge of GIs, Member States and other
stakeholders involved in GIs promotion and protection so to
contribute to sustainable rural development on the Continent.
 This policy framework is the base for the definition of a concrete
Action Plan that will be fed with inputs from the Nairobi workshop
participants and from the GI African network that respond to the e-
consultation on the strategy.

23. The outcomes
 Outcome 1: an African vision on GIs as a tool contributing
to sustainable rural development and food security and a
GI African approach are developed and shared.
 Outcome 2: African countries and regional institutions are
supported in the development of complete and sound
legal and institutional frameworks and of strategies
adapted to their national and regional context, allowing
promotion and protection of GIs throughout the Continent
and beyond thanks to harmonization or mutual
recognition.
 Outcome 3: the development and registration of GI
products as pilots and drivers for rural and sustainable
development are supported, to provide learning and
demonstrative effects.

24. The outcomes
 Outcome 4: market development for GI products is
promoted through innovative approaches on local markets,
through regional trade among the RECs and on export
markets (EU in particular as GIs are there an established
market tool).
 Outcome 5: research, training programs and extension are
encouraged to ensure the identification, development and
diffusion of the best African tailored practices and to
contribute to the African approach, in a context of climate
change. As a lot of research work has been undertaken by
non-African institutions, co-operation between African and
non-African experienced institutions should be facilitated.
 Outcome 6: awareness of all stakeholders, including
consumers, is created, communication among stakeholders
and information to a wider audience are insured.

25. Thank you !