Nigeria has officially joined the UPOV PRISMA online filing platform for all crops and species, enabling breeders in Africa's most populous country to submit plant variety protection (PVP) applications digitally.
This development follows Nigeria's accession to the UPOV Convention on 27 March 2025, marking a significant step in modernizing the country's PVP framework and strengthening alignment with international standards.
© UPOV/ROVERE
Dr. Folarin Sunday Okelola, Registrar of the Nigerian Plant Variety Protection Office at the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC), highlighted the importance of this achievement, stating: "Nigeria's integration into the UPOV PRISMA platform marks a major milestone in modernizing our plant variety protection system. It will simplify application procedures, enhance transparency, and position Nigeria's breeders to protect their innovations globally. This step reflects our commitment to a digital, efficient, and internationally aligned PVP framework. This development further reinforces the current goal of His Excellency President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to transform Nigeria as a leader in agricultural innovation and digital transformation, supporting breeders, researchers, and investors to bring improved varieties to farmers faster and more securely."
With this integration, breeders wishing to file plant variety applications in Nigeria can now take advantage of a secure, transparent, and internationally recognized digital system - reducing paperwork, improving efficiency, and expanding access to global markets.
In October 2025, UPOV PRISMA surpassed 10,000 applications since its establishment in 2017, reflecting the accelerating global adoption of digital and efficient PVP systems.
Nigeria's participation contributes to this upward trend and enhances the reach of the modern tool that facilitates protection and enable greater investment in new, improved plant varieties.
For more information:
UPOV
Nigerian NASC PVP Office: [email protected]
www.upov.int
