Workshop on Geographical Indications |05 July 2025

Seychelles’ honey in the spotlight

Stakeholders from across government, agriculture, trade, and the beekeeping community recently gathered for a workshop at the Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay Resort & Casino that could pave the way for Seychelles' first-ever Geographical Indication (GI) registration, with Seychelles honey taking centre stage.

This workshop is the culmination of work initiated in 2022 when Seychelles sought technical assistance from AfrIPI via the African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation (Aripo). AfrIPI, a European Union-funded initiative, aims to enhance intellectual property systems across Africa within the context of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA). One of its key objectives is the implementation of the African Union’s GI Strategy.

The session was to test the GI system in Seychelles and examine the feasibility of registering Seychelles’ honey as the country’s first GI product. A study commissioned by AfrIPI assessed several promising products including coco de mer, Seychelles cinnamon, gato kreol, and Seychelles’ honey, with the latter emerging as the most viable candidate due to its unique characteristics and strong linkage to the local terroir.

Aisata Dia, senior trade officer at the Ministry of Finance, National Planning and Trade, spoke about the importance of this initiative. “This work began last year, and today we are seeing its fruits. Although our Industrial Property Act has included GI provisions since 2014, we have yet to register any geographical indications. Through this workshop, we want to assess whether there is genuine interest and commitment among honey producers to come together and pursue a GI collectively,” said Ms Dia. 

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