CAS-IP assists, supports, facilitates, and secures access to intellectual assets as public goods.

Contributes legal information to the CGIAR that benefits subsistence farmers in developing countries.

Maintains a knowledge base of IP lessons learned within CGIAR.

Provides market development, planning, and implementation.

Consults on IP risk management, licensing, and design of distribution and supply chains.

Introduces the next generation of lawyers to “agricultural public goods” practice.

View a short film about CAS-IP

CAS-IP Invited to Support West African Seed Alliance

CAS Branding and IP Support for WASA

ICRISAT is the lead partner in the West Africa Seed Alliance (WASA). CAS-IP is working with WASA to develop and implement the WASA IP policy and branding strategy.

Market Failure
85% of the African workforce is engaged in agriculture and agriculture-related sectors. The majority of agricultural output is produced by small-scale farmers using their own labor and farm-produced seed, and is operating at close to subsistence levels. With the notable exception of South Africa, crop yields could be doubled or even tripled if these farmers had access to new seed varieties, complementary inputs and tools to increase labor productivity. An increase in yields would not only improve household food security and nutrition but also generate the marketable surpluses needed to drive economic development. But in most countries there is no viable distribution chain for quality seeds and other agricultural inputs, and marketing output mechanisms are under-developed.

Not just another aid project
This market failure has been ineffectively addressed in a haphazard manner in the past. A standard response has been for NGOs and overseas development government agencies to distribute seed to rural farmers, continue…