Examining Agricultural Resources as a Tool for the Development of Intellectual Property Rights: An Analysis

Abstract

Agriculture was almost without doubt the world's first example of globalization. The principles of cultivation and domestication spread from not more than eight or ten centres of origin, and the world's major crops and livestock from a similar number of centres of origin. This process began some 10,000, to 20,000 years ago, and still continues up till date, through the mechanisms of crops and livestock improvement. The relevance of agricultural resources is construed through global competitiveness and development, this paper emphasises the need to adopt the comparative and global perspectives to agricultural resources as a tool for the development of intellectual property right in Nigeria. Intellectual property right may be defined as statutory monopolies conferred by the state for a prescribed term in relation to certain creations of the mind. This paper therefore examines the relevance of agriculture to aid in the nation's development, and there after proffer solutions for the actualization of the said goals.

Keywords: Agriculture, Intellectual Property Rights, Genetic Resources, Development, Improvement.