EU registers first Sub-Saharan Africa GI
Cameroon’s ‘Poivre de Penja’ has been registered in the EU market as the first protected geographical indication (GI) from the African Intellectual Property Organisation (OAPI) region.
The directorate-general for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European Commission today announced the official registration of the GI for the exotic peppercorn known for its unique seasoning and flavours.
A novel development
It has become the first-ever sub-Saharan GI approved in the EU, the third product from a non-EU country registered since the beginning of the year, and the first African one not originating in South Africa.
In May 2021, the EU designated a GI to South Africa’s Rooibos plant.
The announcement, contained in the Official Journal of the EU, comes at the end of a 17-month application process, during which the EU-funded African Intellectual Property Rights and Innovation Project (AfrIPI), in cooperation with OAPI, supported the Poivre de Penja Producers Association to fulfil the conditions required to gain European recognition.
Commenting on the development, Philippe Van Damme, the EU ambassador to Cameroon, said: “In our global economy that increasingly places high value on the role of IP in international trade, the Penja story is another bold illustration of the potential of African products to compete in the global market using protected GIs to certify their unique origin and production methods.”
The AfrIPI project is the EU’s first IP-related action in Africa and it facilitates intra-African trade and African and European investment, with an aim to create, protect, use, administer, and enforce IP rights across Africa in line with international best practices and in support of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and the African Union’s Agenda 2063.
At the beginning of its five-year mandate in 2020, the AfrIPI provided legal and financial support in the filing of the application for this registration.
Unique origin
Poivre de Penja has been cultivated on the volcanic slopes of the Mount Cameroon range in the Penja municipality of the Littoral Region of Cameroon since the 1950s.
Its cultivation is a principal activity of local farmers, who apply traditional methods.
Through the announcement of this registration by the European Commission, the EU recognises that Poivre de Penja has a specific geographical origin and as a result possesses particular qualities.
The registration guarantees the protection of the rights of the members of the local farming association to be exclusively entitled to use the name ‘Poivre de Penja’. This will prevent abuse of the quality image of their unique product and unhealthy competition from other producers that do not conform to the applicable EU standards.
The recognition is expected to foster the production and marketing of Poivre de Penja and boost its market value. It opens wider avenues for increased commercialisation of Poivre de Penja on the EU market with accrued benefits for local farmers and for Cameroon’s economy as a whole.
Did you enjoy reading this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories sent like this straight to your inbox
Today’s top stories
