Intellectual property and agricultural trade: Producer perceptions of tea and coffee as potential geographical indications

Kenya tea and coffee are major foreign exchange earners and have high reputation among consumers in the international market. Faced by declining prices and competition from other sub-sectors, production area under these commodities has been declining. Use of intellectual property (IP) rights to protect and market agricultural commodities has been on the increase. Geographical indications as IP have been successfully implemented in developed countries and increasingly in developing countries. The study assesses producers’ awareness and perceptions of territorial-based qualities and the influence on product profits from the two export beverage crops, tea and coffee. Factor analysis was conducted on Likert scale perception questions administered to producers of coffee and tea from Muranga and Kirinyaga, respectively, in the Central region of Kenya. Producers of the two products were aware of the uniqueness of their products and their geographical source. Only perceptions related to market access in coffee and tea, and policies and rules as well as role of county government in coffee positively influenced income. Rather than have GI as a certification trademark, a prescriptive sui generis law would provide the required streamlining needed for collective participation of various actors along the value chain of potential GI products