This Article has been written by Ms. Anam Siddiqui, a 2nd year student (BALLB) of Sadanlal Savaldas Khanna Girls Degree College, Prayagraj.
Abstract:
Agriculture has been the backbone of the Indian economy since ages. Ancient, Medieval and Modern, passed through these stages, the field of agronomy gradually evolved and became more wider and advanced area of economy. The early phase where all activities were carried out by the means of traditional farming practices have been replaced by the modern ways. This article is going to deal with the interface between plant variety protection and traditional farming practices. In this modernized era of agriculture, legal protection is also provided to the farmers regarding some of their rights in the field of agriculture.
Introduction:
Agriculture is the basis of settlement of the humans in an advanced society. As agriculture is called the backbone of the Indian economy so, reforms and modernization in agriculture is a crucial condition for the overall development of the India. Various strategies to improve the quality of plants are followed in order to bring development in agriculture. Among such strategies, plant breeding is one the major step which is widely practiced in India. This method has a full potential to improve life quality and to link agriculture with society and eco-system.
Plant Breeding can be defined as an art whereby agricultural plants are improved making them more tasty, strong, nutritious and productive by infilling them with the valuable traits. It is a form of crop advancement. It purposefully manipulates the quality of plants to create a new variety.
In current times, Farmers as well as Scientists work together to breed the plants in order to have desired characteristics in plants. Scientists uses different scientific principles to improve the gene coding of plants. The Parental plants are combined in order to get the next generation with the best traits. Plants are improved for different purposes like to use them for consumption, generating power, environment services, protection, and for other different human activities.
The progress of India in plant breeding is quite impressive. It had been noticed a continuous increase in the agricultural productivity due to governments concrete reformative steps.
Various legislations have also been passed by the government to protect the farmer and breeders’ rights.
Plant Varieties:
A Plant variety can be simply understood as, group of plants, selected from or within a particular species, with a common set of traits.
Plant Variety Protection in India:
Plant variety protection provides a form of legal protection of a variety of plant to a breeder in for of a Plant Breeder’s Rights (PBRs). These are the intellectual property rights granted to a breeder of a registered variety of plant.
The Agreement of TRIPs (Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights) mandates those countries which are the member of World Trade Organization (WTO) to have an effective system for protection of plant varieties.
The Plant Variety Protection and Farmers Rights Act (PPVFRA) 2001: This Act increases agricultural development accelerates investment in research and development for creating new varieties, which could help in enhancing high quality of the seeds.
The Plant Variety Protection and Farmers Rights Act (PPVFRA) 2001, is a step of Indian Government to protect the rights of plant breeders and farmers in respect of commercialization as well as contribution in encouraging new plant varieties.
History of the Act:
The Act was enacted in 2001 after various controversies in different countries to apply Intellectual Property Rights in Indian agriculture joined with World Trade Organisation and implementing agreement on TRIPs.
Under the PPVFR Act, farmers can be registered as a plant breeders after registering their varieties.
Registrable Plant Varieties in India:
Following Four Varieties of plants are registrable under the Plant Variety Protection and Farmers Rights Act (PPVFRA) 2001:
- New varieties 3. Extant varieties
- Farmer’s varieties 4. Essentially Derived varieties (EDV)
- New Varieties: Those varieties which are not under public domain of India i.e., not protected by any intellectual property rights earlier than one year before of filing, or outside India, in case of trees and vines earlier than six years, and in other cases, earlier than four years.
- Extant Varieties: A Variety which is notified under The Seeds Act, 1966 or a variety about which there is common knowledge or a farmer’s variety or any other variety which is in public domain is considered as an Extant variety.
- Farmer’s variety:A variety which has been traditionally cultivated and evolved by the farmers in their fields or a variety which is a wild relative or land race of a variety about which farmers possess common knowledge.
- Essentially derived variety (EDV):Plant variety is taken to be an essentially derived variety of another plant variety if:
- It is predominantly derived from that other plant variety
- It retains the essential characteristics that result from the genotype or combination of genotypes of that other variety (c) It does not exhibit any important (as distinct from cosmetic) features that differentiate it from that other variety.
Criteria for Registration:
Following criteria shall be met for registration:
- Novel:A new variety shall be deemed to be novel. I f at the date of filing of application for registration for protection, the propagating or harvested material of such variety has not been sold or otherwise disposed of by or with the consent of the breeder, for the purposes of exploitation of such variety (a) in India, for more that one year or (b) outside India in the case of trees or vines, earlier than 6 years or, in any other case, earlier than four years.
- Distinct:A new variety shall be deemed to be distinct if it is clearly distinguishable by at least one essential characteristic from any commonly known variety.
- Uniform:The new variety shall be deemed to be uniform if, subject to the variation that may be expected from the particular features of its propagation, it is sufficiently uniform in its essential characteristics
- Stable:A new variety shall be deemed to be stable if its essential characteristics remain unchanged after repeated propagation or, in the case of a particular cycle of propagation, at the end of each such cycle.
Rights under the Act:
- Breeders’ rights:Breeders are granted rights to produce, sell, import or export the protected variety. Breeder can appoint their representative as an agent and may exercise for civil remedy in case of infringement of rights.
- Researchers’ rights:Researcher can use any of the registered variety under the Act for conducting experiment or research. This includes the use of a variety for the purpose of developing another variety but repeated use needs prior permission of the registered breeder.
- Farmers’ rights:A farmer can save, use, sow, re-sow, exchange, share or sell his farm produce including seed of a variety protected under the PPVFR Act, 2001.
Exemptions under the Act:
- Farmers Exemptions: Farmers have right to produce, save, utilise, share or sell produces and protected variety of seeds under such variety .
- Researcher’s Exemption: Researchers have right to use the registered variety for experiments and using the variety for creation of a new variety.
Plants covered under PPVFR Act, 2001:
Following species of the plants can be registered under the Act:
- Cereals: Rice, wheat, maize, pearl millet, sorghum
- Legumes: chickpea, mungbean, urdbean, fieldpea, rajmash, lentil, pigeon pea
- Fibre crop
- Four species of cotton namely, Gossypium arboretum L. and G. harbaceum L.(diploid cotton) and G. barbadense L. and G. hirsutum L.(tetraploid cotton)
- Two species of jute (Corchorus olitorius L. and C. capsularis L.)
Other species in the pipeline are:
- Mango [ Mangifera indica L.]
- Indian mustard [ Brassica juncea L.]
- Rapeseed [ Brassica rapa L.]
- Gobhi Sarson [ Brassica napus L.]
- Groundnut [ Arachis hypogaea L.]
- Castor [ Ricinus communis L.]
- Linseed [ Linum usitatissimum L.]
- Sesame [ Sesamum indicum L.]
- Sunflower [ Helianthus annuus L.]
- Safflower [ Carthamus tinctorius napus L.]
- Soyabean [ Glycine max (L.) Merrill]
The owner of the protected variety has a right to produce, sell , distribute import and export the variety.
PepsiCo Issue:
The registration of two hybrid potato varieties FL 1867 and FL 2027 was applied by the company in February 2011.
These varieties were registered under the PPVFRA in February 2016 for a period of 15 years. PepsiCo marketed the latter variety under the trademark FC-5 and was claiming that the Gujarat farmers were illegally using this variety.
But, planting a registered variety by the farmers is per se not an offence since the PPVFRA allows the farmers to re-use such varieties and to also share them with their neighbours, provided some conditions are met.
One is that the farmers cannot sell “branded” seeds, which, according to PPVFRA, means “any seed put in a package or any other container and labelled in a manner indicating that such seed is of a variety protected” under the Act.
The company claimed before the court that FC-5 was licensed to farmers to bring potatoes of the said variety on the buyback system. The FC-5 variety could have been made available and distributed anywhere, and without the law being violated.
Also, the FC-5 was registered as an “Extant Variety”, which is also a “Variety of Common Knowledge”. It implies that the said variety of potato was already available in the country before it was registered and that there was “common knowledge” about this variety in the country.
Conclusion:
We can conclude that by the inactment of The Plant Variety Protection and Farmers Rights Act (PPVFRA) 2001, protection has been granted to the new varieties if the plants innovated by the breeders. Thus, helping them to motivate by the way of appreciation. Farmers rights have been protected by the provisions of the act. Thus, helping the development of the agriculture of India. It helps in the acceleration of the overall India economy.
References:
- The article is originally published on the website of Protection of Plant Variety and Farmer’s Rights Authority, link for the same is herein: https://plantauthority.gov.in/compendium-varieties-registered-under-ppvfr-act-2001
- The article is originally published on the website ofDrishtiias, link for the same is herein: https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-news-analysis/the-protection-of-plant-varieties-and-farmers-rights-act
- The article is originally published by Dr. Malathi Lakshmikumaran and Dr. Rajani jaiswal on the website ofLakshmi kumaran & Shridharan associates, link for the same is herein: https://www.lakshmisri.com/Media/Uploads/documents/plant_variety_protection_in_india.pdf