Enabling small-scale farmers and producers to leverage the commercial value of their products is key to enhancing rural livelihoods in developing countries. In the context of the "IP and Product Branding for Business Development" initiative under its Development Agenda, WIPO has been working with a range of government and private stakeholders in Uganda - including the Cotton Development Organisation (CDO); UNACOFF, a rural development cooperative; Farmnet Ltd., a company working with small farmers to produce quality sesame for the food and pharmaceutical industries; and the Mukono Vanilla, Spices and Horticulture Cooperative Society - to support their efforts to enhance the value of their products using various intellectual property (IP) tools relevant to branding (e.g. certification marks, collective marks and trademarks). WIPO Magazine invited Kristin Selleyfan, who has filmed a documentary on the project, to give her perspective on what this initiative means to producers of three high-quality Ugandan agricultural products -cotton, sesame and vanilla.
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