INTRODUCTION
Agriculture in India is an ancient occupation and for ages farmers have been backbone of Indian agricultural system to accelerate agriculture developments it’s necessary to protect the rights of farmers to stimulate investment for research and development for the evolution of new plant varieties such protection will ensure the availability of high quality seeds and planting materials to the farmers India having ratified the agreement on trade related aspects of intellectual property rights has to make provision to give effect to the Aforside objectives the protection of plant varieties and farmers rights act 2001 has been Enacted in India the purpose of this act is protection of plant varieties and farmers right authority has been established and located in New Delhi India adopted the protection of plant variety and farmers right act in 2001 to comply with article 27 (3) (b) of the TRIPS (Trade related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement in 1994 )Agreement which India is a signatory the main aim of this act was to protect the rights of the farmers who are involved in breeding of new varieties of plants this article aims Lay down certain rights and privileges that are available to Indian farmers
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS IN PLANT VARIETIES-
The policy of granting intellectual property rights to plant varieties is based principally on an instrumentalist approach to IPR this is true both for patents and plant breeder rights legal protection for the products of human intellectual efforts is granted not because of a moral commitment to compensate creators but rather because the product they create enrich our societies culture and knowledge and thus increase its welfare the grant of Vipers in plant variety intends to provide adequate incentives for creators and inventors to invest intellectual capital and thereby create plant varieties that could lead to development of high yielding variety seat leading to greater productivity
SALIENT FEATURES OF FARMERS RIGHT AS DESCRIBED IN PPV&FR ACT 2001 ARE AS FOLLOWING
1 .A farmer who has breed or developed a new variety shall be entitled for registration and other protection in like manner as breeder of a variety under this act.
2. How farmer who is engaged in the conservation of genetic resources of land races and wild relatives shall be entitled in manner for identification of reward from the gene fund, provided that material so selected and conserved has been used as donor of genes in varieties registerable under this act
OBJECTIVES OF THE PPV & FR ACT 2001
1. To establish an effective system for the protection of plan varieties right of farmers and plant breeders and to encourage the development of new varieties of plant.
2. To accelerate agricultural development in the country protect plant breeders rights stimulate investment for research and development both in public and private sector for the development of new plant varieties
3. The objective is to recognize the role of farmers as cultivators and conserves the contribution of traditional ruler and tribal communities to the country’s biodiversity by rewarding them for their contribution and providing them benefit and protecting the traditional rights of farmers.
4. The objective of the act acknowledges to set up a compelling framework for the insurance of plant assortments the privilege of farmers and plant reproducers and to energize the advancement of the new plant
DIFFERENT KINDS OF FARMERS RIGHT UNDER PPV & FR ACT
- Access to Seed ( Section 39(1)(iv) In this Farmers have right to save use exchange share and sell farm produce of a protected variety except sale of branded seed A farmer under this act is any person who cultivates crop by cultivating the land himself or cultivates crop by directly supervising the cultivation of land through any other person .The PPVFR Act therefore allows this right on seat to all varieties including varieties registered under this act this act prohibits use of technologies like the Terminator gene technology which destroys the germination of capability of saved seeds. A farmer who has breathed or developed a new variety shall be entitled for registration and other protection in like manner as a breeder of a variety under this act
- Farmers right to register traditional varieties under this PPV & FR registration act farmers have the privilege of being completely exempted from payment of any kind of fees . PPV&FRact allows registration of traditional varieties it’s important to involve all communities associated with its conservation farmers need not to pay any fee either to register their varieties or to renew their registration
- Right of communities section 41 any person or group of person engaged in farming or any governmental non governmental organization may on behalf of any village or local community in India file in any center notified by the authority any claim attribute to the contribution of the people of that village as the case may be in evolution of any variety for the purpose of staking a claim on behalf of such village where any claim is made as mentioned above the center concern may verify the claim made by such person or group of persons and it is satisfied that such below your local community has contributed significantly to the evolution of the variety which has been registered under this act it shall report its finding to the authority. when the authority is satisfied on a report that the variety with which the report is related has been registered under the provision of this act it may issue notice to the breeder of the variety .
- The recognition and reward conferredannually under the provision of section 45 of PPV & FR Act according to This act a national gene fund Is to be created to facilitate reward and recognition to eligible individual farmers and communities for their contribution in – situ the Government of India has established five plans genome savior community awards of Rs 10 lakh
- Benefit sharing section 26 under this act benefit sharing in relation to a variety means such proportion of the benefits accruing to the breeder of such variety or such proportion of benefit accruing to breeder from an agent or a licensee of such variety as the case may be for which a claiming shall be entitled as determined by authority.Section 26 details the process for inviting claims with respect to benefit sharing on receipt of copy of the certificate of registration the authority shall publish such contents of the certificate and invite claims of benefits sharing to variety registered under such certificate in the prescribed manner. on receiving a claim as above the authority shall send a copy of such claim to the breeders of variety registered under such certificate and the breeder may on receipt of such copy submit his opposition to such claim within such period and in such manner as may be prescribed
RIGHTS AND BENEFITS UNDER UPOV ACT –
The UPOV International union for the protection of new varieties of plants is a treaty body for the protection of new varieties of plants . UPOV is treaty body with headquarter in Geneva Switzerland it’s objective is to provide an effective system for plant variety protection The UPOV convention adopted in 1961 entered into force in 1968 It is an effective PVP system boy breeders to develop new varieties and showering that lack of suitable protection is not a barrier to those varieties availability
• Plant General And Species – The UPOV convention recognizes the importance of encouraging breeding in all plant genera and species and not attempting to predetermine for with general species breeding would be beneficial
OFFENCE AND PUNISHMENT –
- If any person contravenes any provision of this bill or any rule made there under
- importssells stock exhibits for sale or barter Supplies any seat of any kind or variety deemed to be misbranded
- Imports cells stalks or exhibit for sale otherwise supplies any seed of any kind variety without a certificate of registration
- Obstructive committee registration subcommittee or seat certification agency or seed inspector or seed analysis any other authority appointed in the exercise of its power or discharge of their duties under this act or the rules made thereunder he shall or convention be punishable with fines which shall not be less than ₹5000 but which may extend to ₹25,000
CONCLUSION –
Food is the four most important to sustain life and livelihood followed by shelter and clothes there is a certain level of acknowledgement worldwide that farmers are in important part of economic social and political fabric of society and required support the PPV FR ACT is the first in the world to grant formal rights department the act recognizes the farmer as a cultivator conserver breeder who has several varieties the farmers who have breed or developed a new variety has right to register it . There are many laws have been brought in place by the legislature to protect the rights of the farmers And promote breeding And preserving plant varieties
REFERENCES
Plant protection act 2001>>>https://www.indiacode.nic.in/handle/123456789/1909?sam_handle=123456789/1362#:~:text=India%20Code%3A%20Protection%20of%20Plant%20Varieties%20and%20Farmers%20Rights%20Act%2C%202001&text=Go!&text=Long%20Title%3A,of%20new%20varieties%20of%20plants.
Rights under PPV FR Act https://vikaspedia.in/agriculture/policies-and-schemes/crops-related/protection-of-plant-varieties-and-rights-of-farmers/protection-of-plant-varieties-and-farmers-rights-act-2001
Protection of plant verities https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protection_of_Plant_Varieties_and_Farmers%27_Rights_Act,_2001
Book – Introduction to IPR ( Intellectual Property Rights ) by J.P Mishra
https://www.upov.int/portal/index.html.en >> UPOV act Rights And Benefit
https://www.insightsonindia.com/2015/03/28/11-critically-comment-on-the-salient-features-of-the-protection-of-plant-varieties-and-farmers-rights-ppvfr-act-of-india-2001/>> salient features
Protection of farmers rights in india by Ms. P.S SEEMA
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