The Legal Protection of New Plant Varieties in Malawi: Challenges and Solutions for Rural Women Farmers

Abstract

During the course of studying Master in Intellectual Property (MIP) I found that the emerging, developing, interesting and academically fertile area in IP and developing countries is the area of New Plant Varieties for its impact on food security and socio economic developing of the countries. This paper took up the challenge of engaging into the formal intellectual property law and its impact or lack thereof on Plant breeders and rural women farmers. The focus of the paper was to have an intellectual engagement of whether the formal law mechanisms could be utilized to emancipate the rural women farmers. This implicates on the rural women farmers in that it lenders them food insecure and with possibility of becoming socially destitute. This is so because a food is a symbolic status with a potential of eradicating the economic challenges faced by rural women farmers. The paper conducted an extensive qualitative research comprising of primary data collection from key informant in depth interviews with five plant breeders and nine women farmers as well as three focus group discussions of twelve participants each group discussion and secondary data collection. The paper findings , utilising Feminist Marxist legal theory and Ubuntu conceptualisation , was that the formal law is a good means of protecting new plant varieties in Malawi for the benefit of rural women farmers.