This publication is a product of the Project DURAS "Linking Farmers to Markets through Valorization of Local Resources: The Case for Intellectual Property Rights of Indigenous Resources". A project funded by the French Minister of Foreign Affairs and implemented through the University of Pretoria, Department of Agricultural Economics, Extension and Rural Development in collaboration with South African, Namibian, French and American collaborators. Project DURAS (Promotion du Dévelopment Durable dans les systèmes de Recherche Agricole du Sud) "Promoting Sustainable Development in Agricultural Research in the South" was conceived to contribute to strengthening the involvement of southern stakeholders in the agricultural research process and ensuring their voices are heard at the international level. It also aims to enhance the scientific potential of these stakeholders through implementation and management of research programmes which they believe to be strategically important for their regions. The project collaborators believe that many poor communities in rural areas of Southern Africa own a rich diversity of traditional knowledge and indigenous resources (Cape indigenous flora; Mopani worms; Marula fruit etc.) and produce agro-food products based on local resources (Rooibos tea etc.). Considering that many of them have a given quality, reputation or other characteristic essentially attributable to their geographical origin, labelling and protection through a geographical indication (GI) could apply to them. Nevertheless, rural communities in the SADC region generally market low value products or raw materials. Where differentiated products do exist, they are often the result of the initiative of medium or large-scale farmers and enterprises.