Caritas Zambia has appealed to the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry to patent local foods like Chikanda and Chibwantu to benefit local people.
Speaking on Friday, 16th October, 2020 when he made a presentation at the 2nd National Food and Seed Festival in Lusaka, Caritas Zambia Executive Director Eugene Kabilika said just as multinational companies have patented their productions like seeds and plants, the government of the Republic of Zambia through the relevant ministry should also patent local foods that are now being produced at commercial level.
Mr. Kabilika cited Chikanda and Chibwantu as some of the foods that should be patented and royalties so as to benefit royal establishments.
He said the royalties can help improve the lives of the local people.
Meanwhile Caritas Zambia says the global shocks the world is experiencing today highlights the urgent need to support agro ecology.
Agro ecology is a people centric system of sustainable agriculture and social justice movements driven by local farmers and other food producers to maintain power over their local food systems, protecting their livelihoods and communities, and defending every right to nutritious and diverse food.
Speaking at the 2nd National Food and Seed Festival in Lusaka, Caritas Zambia Executive Director Eugene Kabilika said climate change, economic downturn and widespread disease threaten African food systems.
“Climate change, economic downturn and widespread disease threaten African food systems. However, agroecology enables food producers to develop sustainable farms, bustling local markets, and small innovative enterprises that bring security, resilience and prosperity to African livelihoods in the face of global or regional shocks,” Mr. Kabilika said.
He added that agro ecology is the stronger economic and ecological alternative to the failing industrial agricultural system.
“Food sovereignty is the solution to food security. Agro ecological systems can sustainably feed more Zambians than industrial agriculture by keeping power over [local people’s] seeds, markets, diets and profits in the hands of the local community,” he said.
Mr Kabilika further said that agro ecology protects health, safeguards public health by providing nutritious foods to communities and rejecting toxic pesticides and fertilisers that poison farmers, agriculture workers and consumers.
The Caritas Zambia Executive Director furthermore noted that agro ecology protects bio diversity on farm eco-systems and localising sustainable food systems, agro ecology while defending Africa and the world from future out breaks and pandemics spurred by human development of forests, industrial animal agriculture and wildlife trafficking.
He is so right. If you look at us we are waiting for the white man to come and discover these foods and patent them for himself. We cant do it on our own
You can not patient food…….
not allowed.
Stop talking crap. KFC chickens are patented. So is Coca cola so is Macdonalds Burgers etc
Not allowed by who?
First of all, who would own the patent since chikanda and chibwantu are widely made and consumed by millions of Zambians? Second, patents are for unique inentions or significant improvement to already existing product or invention. The seeds and plants being patented by multinationals are mostly GMOs hence making them unique (or so they claim.)
You register it and you will own it!! How dumb!
It’s true you can not patent food or dishes. Also It’s not the duty of government to patent inventions. It’s the duty of each inventer. Well am not surprised everything in Zambia it’s government, pf and Lungu. Meanwhile there those believing that upnd, hh are the right people. How dull can we be???
Its not true!!
All of you arguing that you can’t patent food are a case of being imprisoned by your Western education which you cant use properly to liberate you. Try thinking out of the box for once. Food or recipes can be patented. There have been many cases where Africans especially had been eating a particular dish traditionally until a white man arrived and patented that very food. Zambia and Zimbabwe saw a German guy who took the recipe for Chibuku wrote it down and patented it. Up to today you still pay Heinrich as you drink his Chibuku yet it is your traditional recipe. There is Rooiboos tea which the Xhoisan or bushmen in South Africa and Namibia have been drinking for ages. It is now patented by Boers who are earning millions out of an Ancient African recipe. I can go on but I wont do the…
I can go on but I wont do the homework for you. Do your own research and you will find the many other examples of Africans losing out on a recipe to azungu ojaila. Sukulu isnt meant for boasting but for helping to open up your mind
Wheres the first part of my comment ba LT? Does it make sense to publish only the second part? Whats the idea?
Wheres the first part of my comment ba LT? Does it make sense to publish only the second part? Whats the idea?