Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority
Recently, the Union Agriculture Minister at the 21st Foundation Day of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority said that the Plant Variety and Farmers’ Rights Protection Authority Act will be amended.
About Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority
The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPV&FR) Authority is an Indian statutory body established in November 2005 to implement the provisions of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPV&FR) Act, 2001. Its primary function is to grant and protect intellectual property rights (IPRs) to plant breeders, researchers, and farmers who develop new or extant plant varieties, thereby encouraging agricultural innovation and growth of the seed industry while safeguarding traditional farming practices.
Structure of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority
The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority (PPV&FRA) is a statutory body consisting of a Chairperson and fifteen members, supported by a Registrar General and other administrative staff who manage the Plant Varieties Registry.
Composition of the Authority
- The Authority, established under the PPV&FR Act, 2001, comprises a Chairperson, fifteen members (both ex-officio and nominated), and a Registrar-General who serves as the ex-officio Member-Secretary.
- The Chairperson is an eminent person appointed by the Central Government with extensive experience in plant varietal research or agricultural development.
- The fifteen members include eight ex-officio members from various government departments and ministries, three representatives from State Agricultural Universities and State Governments, and one representative each from farmers' organizations, tribal organizations, the seed industry, and women's organizations associated with agriculture.
- The Registrar-General heads the Plant Varieties Registry.
Key Objectives and Functions
The Authority balances the rights of commercial breeders with those of traditional farmers:
- Registration of Plant Varieties: It establishes and maintains the National Register of Plant Varieties, documenting and cataloguing all registered varieties (new, extant, and farmers' varieties). Varieties must meet the criteria of Distinctness, Uniformity, and Stability (DUS) to be registered.
- Protection of Plant Breeders' Rights: The Authority grants exclusive commercial rights to registered breeders for producing, selling, and marketing their new varieties for a specified period (15 years for field crops, 18 years for trees and vines).
- Protection of Farmers' Rights: It recognizes and protects the rights of farmers who have traditionally conserved, improved, and made available plant genetic resources. Specific farmers' rights include:
- Saving and Selling Seeds: Farmers can save, use, sow, re-sow, exchange, share, or sell their farm produce, including seed of protected varieties, as long as they do not sell it as "branded seed".
- Benefit Sharing: Farmers and communities who provide genetic material used in developing a registered variety are entitled to a share of the commercial benefits derived from that variety.
- Compensation: If a registered variety fails to perform as expected under recommended management conditions, farmers can claim compensation from the breeder.
- Exemption from Fees: Farmers are exempted from application and registration fees for their own varieties.
- Awards and Recognition: The Authority administers the National Gene Fund, which provides "Plant Genome Saviour Community Awards" and individual "Farmer Rewards & Recognitions" to farming communities and farmers for their contributions to conservation efforts.
- Ensuring Seed Availability: It can issue a compulsory license for a protected variety if its seed is not available to farmers in sufficient quantity or at a reasonable price after three years of registration.
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