Source: TH
Context:
The Union Agriculture Minister, Shivraj Singh Chouhan, announced plans to amend the PPV&FRA Act, incorporating suggestions from stakeholders to address current challenges and bolster farmers’ interests.
The Act has been in force for 20 years; the agricultural sector has seen technological, scientific, and trade changes during this period.
Consultations:
- A committee headed by agriculture scientist R.S. Paroda, under PPVFRA, is conducting wide stakeholder consultations.
- Aim: Examine the Act’s provisions, identify deficiencies, and suggest amendments to align with present-day realities.
Key Areas of Proposed Amendments:
- Definition of Variety and Seed:
- Expand “variety needs” to include combinations of genotypes (aligning with draft Seeds Bill 2019).
- Include seedlings, tubers, bulbs, rhizomes, roots, tissue culture plantlets, synthetic seeds, and other vegetatively propagated material under the definition of seed.
- Breeder and Institutions:
- Redefine “institution” in the definition of breeder to cover both public and private establishments in the seeds sector.
- DUS Test (Distinctness, Uniformity, Stability):
- Include trait importance in DUS guidelines.
- Address concerns of misuse and ensure proper testing before registration.
- Abusive Acts:
- Define actions like producing, selling, marketing, exporting, or importing a variety with the same denomination as another as punishable.
Farmers’ Concerns:
- Community Seeds Protection:
- Farmers’ groups, including Samyukt Kisan Morcha, demand registration for community-developed seeds.
- Fear misuse of DUS tests by private companies to monopolise seeds. Example cited: Njavara paddy seed from South India.
- Awareness and Inclusion:
- Small peasantry often unaware of techno-legal frameworks and Intellectual Property Rights (IPR).
- Seeds are traditionally treated as shared community resources, conflicting with exclusive economic rights under IPR.
- Compensation Mechanisms:
- Original Act has provisions for compensation for non-performance of IP-protected propagating material, but detailed criteria are still missing in the Rules.
- Global Pressure Concerns:
- Developing countries are being pressured to align domestic laws with international IPR frameworks, which may conflict with open-source or community-based seed practices.
