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Table 6.2 Variety release regulations in six countries in ESA
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Tanzania
Kenya
Malawi
South Africa
1
Number of seasons of
Official National
Performance Testing (NPT)
2
0 (preceded by 2 years
of company trialing
+1 year DUS)
1 (preceded by
1 years of company
trialing +1 year DUS)
2
3
0
2
How many locations are
NPT trials conducted in?
6
5 sites for company
trialing
3 per agro- ecology
6–12
6–12
N/A
3
Is Farmer evaluation
necessary for release?
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
4
What are the release
criteria?
Must be
DUS and
have VCU
Must be DUS and
competitive
Must be DUS and
competitive
Superior yield to
checks by 5–10% or
special attribute(s)
Superior to
checks with
proven VCU
DUS and entry
into national
variety list
5
Are CS traits (e.g., drought)
considered and tested
during release?
Considered,
but not
tested
Considered, but not
tested
Considered, but not
tested
Yes, tested
No
Yes for
Biotech traits
6
Is the country a member of
UPOV*?
No
No
Yes
Yes
No
Yes
7
Can releases from
neighbouring countries be
sold?
No
No
No
No
No
Yes if Variety
List is Open
for Crop
8
Does certified seed have to
be produced in-country?
No
Varies
No
No
Yes to qualify
for govt. input
programme
No
9
Average age of commercial
hybrids
10 years
13 years
14 years
14 years
11 years
4 years
10 Maize hybrid adoption rate 65%
95%
20%
80%
15%
98%
Source: Abate et al. (2017)
*
UPOV stands for International Union for the Protection of New Plant Varieties
B. Das et al.