Wageningen Univ-MSSRF Training
India Framework on Farmers’ Rights:
From A CBM Perspective
S.Bala Ravi
Advisor (Biodiversity)
M.S.Swaminathan Research Foundation
sbala@mssrf.res.in
Farmers’ Rights:
The FAO-IUPGR (1983) and IT (2001)
The basis of Farmers’ Rights, is the past,
present and future contributions of
farmers in all regions of the world,
particularly those in centers of origin and
diversity, in conserving, improving and
making available the plant genetic
resources
National Scenario on PGR & Use
Indian farmers have been generating &
conserving rich genetic diversity in many
crops over last 7000 plus years
Crop improvement is dominated by public
R&D, with about 25% of investment from
private sector and public sector varieties
are placed in public domain
About 75 % of seed supply is confined to the
farmer seed system
Traditional right of farmers on saving, sowing,
exchanging and selling planting material is
strongly entrenched with its strong link to
the livelihood
Private seed sector places priority on hybrid
seed technology (90%) to beat farmers’
rights on seeds
Unique Advantage of On-Farm
Conservation to Global Food Security
The time tested traditional in situ on-farm
conservation by farming communities
involves repeated seed regeneration together
with dynamic natural and human selection
applying innovation. This process continues
to generate new genetic diversity to suit to
changing times and needs. It has a built in
sustainable use
Ex situ conservation is very recent. It merely
holds PGR accessions taken from farmers,
safely for long period, in the very state of its
genetic architecture.
It has major limitations in conserving genetic
variability of X-pollinated and vegetative
propagated species
COST OF CONSERVATION & WHO PAYS IT?
Ex Situ conservation-Who Pays for it
Cost of conservation in IARC Gene banks
---Koo, Pardey, & Wright.(IFPRI) 2003
Seed Type
Cost/Accession/Year
Orthodox &
US $ 0.87 to 15.48
Recalcitrant seeds O
Vegetative propagule US $ 11. 98 to 89.35
& wild species
Global Community pays the ex situ conservation cost
National Govts & Global Crop Diversity Trust
In Situ Conservation-Does any one
Pay for it?
Most of the farming community conserved PGR
(landraces or traditional/farmers’ varieties/wild
relatives) are relatively low yielding & income
generating, but possess few or more other useful
traits
Every time these PGR are grown, farmers suffer an
opportunity cost, which is the difference in
net profitability between growing low yielding
land race and alternate high yielding variety,
Conservation of many of these PGR in many crops
at national level demands large land area every
year and this impact on the urgent national
interest of all developing countries for
strengthening their food security,
Cultivation of land races under marginal and pronature farming also contributes to environmental
service, which is beneficial to all others
NONE PUTS MONEY 2 SUPPORT ON-FARM CONSERVATION
ON-FARM CONSERVATION Vis-a-Vis
IPR DRIVEN SEED SYSTEMS

On–farm conservation is linked to a farming
practice embedded on an economic philosophy
and cultural ethos of traditional communities

Conservation of PGR is irreversibly weakened
under the IPR-driven industrial agriculture

Genetic erosion has intensified in developing
countries under hi-input production systems

Unchecked spread of IPR-driven market economy
in national seed systems is putting the low
economic return-based in situ on–farm
conservation and associated cultural value
systems at increasing danger.
Indian sui generis law
for Protection of plant variety
The Protection of Plant Varieties
and Farmers’ Rights Act,2001
grants PBR
safeguards the FR consistent with IT
allows researcher’s rights
The Act provides FR on recognizing the farmer as
the cultivator, conserver, and breeder
IMPORTANT FARMER FRIENDLY
FEATURES OF PPVFR ACT
1. New varieties and Extant varieties
including Farmers’ varieties are eligible
for registration,
2. Allows extensive Farmers’ Rights (FRs)
3. Disclosure of PGR accessed is essential
and provides for Benefit sharing
4. Mandatory to disclose presence of GURT,
like terminator gene
5. Allows compulsory licensing on grounds of
levying unreasonable price to seed
The Protection of Plant Varieties and
Farmers’ Rights (2001)
Grants protection to :
Farmers’ variety-
Registration by a farmer,
a group or community of
farmers
D + Relaxed U & S
Extant Variety
-
DUS
New Variety
-
Novelty + DUS
India’s PPVFR Act
Farmers' variety
“Farmers' variety" means a
variety which has been
traditionally cultivated and
evolved by farmers in their
fields; or
a land race or wild relative,
about which the farmers
possess common knowledge
Farmers’ Rights
as conserver and cultivator
Right to save, use, sow,
re-sow, exchange, share
or sell farm produced
seed, including the seed
of registered variety
Farmers’ Rights
as conserver
Right to share benefit
when farmers’ variety is
used for breeding new
commercial variety.
(Link to National Gene Fund)
Farmers’ Rights
as conserver
Right to farmers and
communities to receive
reward and recognition
for conserving PGR
(India instituted Genome Saviour Award in 2007)
Farmers’ Rights
as cultivator
Right to get adequate
supply of seed of
registered varieties
at reasonable prices
(Link to Compulsory Licensing)
Farmers’ Rights
as cultivator
Right to claim
compensation for under
performance of
registered variety
Farmers’ Rights
as breeder
Right to register
farmer’s variety
Farmers’ Rights
as breeder
In the event of an essentially
derived variety (EDV) is
developed from farmer’s
variety, the
commercialization of such
EDV cannot be done without
prior consent from the
Farmer concerned
Farmers’ Rights
On socio-economic consideration
Exemption to farmers from
paying all fees related to
administrative and judicial
proceedings under this Act
Farmers’ Rights
On socio-political consideration
Judicial Protection
against first innocent
infringement
of this Act
NATIONAL GENE FUND
NGF to be established by the Central Government
Contributions
from National &
International
Organizations
Reimbursement of
Benefit shares
Annual fee
on varieties
Reimbursement of
compensation
Compensations
deposited
Supporting
conservation
Benefit shares
awarded
(Sec. 45)
REASONABLE & HEALTY BALANCE
BETWEEN PBR & FR
EQUITY, ETHICS & PUBLIC INTEREST
Plant
Breeder’s
Right
HOW FAR OUR POLITICAL ECNOMY ALLOWS THIS