A workshop on best practices for reference collections and plant variety database management opened on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Abidjan. Organized by the African Intellectual Property Organization (OAPI) in collaboration with the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), this event is part of the African Intellectual Property Rights Project (AfrIPI). Running until April 10, the workshop specifically aims to strengthen the capacity of experts from the four OAPI-accredited research centers to conduct Distinctness, Uniformity, and Stability (DUS) examinations of plant varieties. Participants will receive in-depth training on managing reference collection databases, an essential tool for the effective protection of plant varieties. The four participating centers are: • The National Center for Agronomic Research (CNRA) of Côte d'Ivoire • The Institute of Environment and Agricultural Research (INERA) of Burkina Faso • The Senegalese Institute for Agricultural Research (ISRA) of Senegal • The Institute of Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD) of Cameroon. This training also brings together international experts, officials responsible for plant variety registration from the Ministries of Agriculture, and those in charge of DUS technical examinations from the various research centers. This initiative demonstrates OAPI's ongoing commitment to strengthening the plant variety protection system, thereby contributing to agricultural development in its member states.
