A continental strategy on gis

1. DEVELOPMENT OF GEOGRAPHICAL INDICATIONS
IN THE AFRICAN UNION COUNTRIES: A
CONTINENTAL STRATEGY TO MOVE FORWARD
VALIDATION WORKSHOP
31 May, 1 and 2 June 2016 – Cotonou, Benin

2. Why a Continental strategy for
Geographical Indications (GIs)?
DIANA AKULLO, AFRICAN UNION

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
 Three registred GIs in Africa: miel blanc d’Oku, Cameroon ; Poivre de
Penja, Cameroon; café Ziama-Macenta, Guinea

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 60 experts and stakeholders
completed the draft proposal to revise or complete the background information
and give inputs to the content.
 Validation workshop, the 31st May-1st June 2016.
 Next steps:
 Political endorsement of the strategy by the African Union Commission
 Preparation and validation of the action plan

7. Validation workshop
31 May, 1 and 2 June 2016 – Cotonou, Benin
Agenda and objectives

8. The validation workshop: objectives
 To present and discuss the content of the strategy: what
should be an African approach for GIs ?
 With a special focus on the Recommendations and the
Policy Framework
 To validate the strategy at a technical level
 To provide inputs for a 2017-2022 Action Plan
 To define concrete ways to move forward

9. The validation workshop: agenda
Today: plenary sessions with interactive discussions to feed
the strategy
 Regional Intellectual Property Organization frameworks
 GIs in Africa: the background
 A rural development tool
 Legal and institutional framework
 Recommendations from the draft strategy
 The policy framework

10. The validation workshop: agenda
Tomorrow: working sessions to build propositions for the Action Plan
 4 topics:
 Topic 1: GI establishment: product identification, CoP definition and
registration
 Topic 2: The market linkages: certification methods and marketing
tools
 Topic 3: governance of the GI process
 Topic 4: towards a common legal and institutional baseline?
 Wrap up of the inputs for the Action Plan in plenary
 Commitments for the upcoming Action Plan in plenary
Day 3: field trip, Ananas Pain de Sucre, Allada

11. Thank you !