Plant variety

Introductory Protection of Plant Variety and Farmers Right Act, 2001 (PPVFR Act) is an Act

of the Parliament of India that was enacted to provide for the establishment of an effective

system for protection of plant varieties, the rights of farmers and plant breeders, and to

encourage the development and cultivation of new varieties of plants. This act received the

assent of the President of India on the 30 October 2001.

The PPV&FR Act, 2001 was enacted to grant intellectual property rights to plant breeders,

researchers and farmers who have developed any new or extant plant varieties. The
Intellectual

Property Right granted under PPV & FR Act, 2001 is a dual right – one is for the variety and

the other is for the denomination assigned to it by the breeder. The rights granted under this

Act are heritable and assignable and only registration of a plant variety confers the right.

HISTORY OF PPVFRA:

The PPVFRA was enacted in 2001 after engaging debates were held in the country on how

intellectual property rights should be introduced in Indian agriculture after the country joined

the World Trade Organisation in 1995 and agreed to implement the Agreement on Trade-

Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).

The choice before India was to either enact a law that protected the interests of farming

communities or to accept the framework of plant breeders’ rights given by the International

Union for Protection of New Plant Varieties (UPOV Convention). The latter option was

rejected primarily because the current version of UPOV, which was adopted in 1991, denies

the farmers the freedom to reuse farm-saved seeds and to exchange them with their
neighbours.

CASE:

A group of farmer organisations and civil society representatives upped the ante against
PepsiCo India after the MNC filed lawsuits against four potato growers from Sabarkantha
district for allegedly growing a variety of potato — FL 2027, also called FC5 — on which
PepsiCo claimed exclusive rights by virtue of a Plant Variety Certificate (PVC) under the
Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPV&FR) Act, 2001.
 

What’s the issue?

PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt Ltd uses the registered variety of potatoes called FL 2027, which
is a hybrid of FL 1867 and Wischip varieties, for manufacturing chips for its brand.

The company is the registered breeder of FL 2027 under the Protection of Plant Varieties and
Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001. This entitles it to an exclusive right over the registered
variety. farmers are not authorised to grow this variety. By growing these potatoes without
licence, the farmers in Gujarat are violating its statutory rights.

What next?

Nearly 200 civil society representatives and farm leaders have written to the Centre for
intervention. Farmers groups are pointing out that the law allows them to grow and sell any
variety of crop or even seed as long as they don’t sell branded seed of registered varieties.

The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPV&FR) Act, 2001:

Enacted by India in 2001 adopting sui generis system.

It is in conformity with International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants
(UPOV), 1978.

The legislation recognizes the contributions of both commercial plant breeders and farmers in
plant breeding activity and also provides to implement TRIPs in a way that supports the
specific socio-economic interests of all the stakeholders including private, public sectors and
research institutions, as well as resource-constrained farmers.

Objectives of the PPV & FR Act, 2001:

To establish an effective system for the protection of plant varieties, the rights of farmers and
plant breeders and to encourage the development of new varieties of plants.

To recognize and protect the rights of farmers in respect of their contributions made at any
time in conserving, improving and making available plant genetic resources for the
development of new plant varieties.

To accelerate agricultural development in the country, protect plant breeders’ rights;

stimulate investment for research and development both in public & private sector for the
development new of plant varieties.

Facilitate the growth of seed industry in the country which will ensure the availability of high
quality seeds and planting material to the farmers.
Relevant definitions under the Act.

SECTION 2

(i) “essentially derived variety”, in respect of a variety (the initial variety), shall be said to be

essentially derived from such initial variety when it—

(i) is predominantly derived from such initial variety, or from a variety that itself is

predominantly derived from such initial variety, while retaining the expression of the
essential

characteristics that results from the genotype or combination of genotype of such initial
variety;

(ii) is clearly distinguishable from such initial variety; and

(iii) conforms (except for the differences which result from the act of derivation) to such

initial variety in the expression of the essential characteristics that result from the genotype or

combination of genotype of such initial variety;

(j) “extant variety” means a variety available in India which is—

(i) notified under section 5 of the Seeds Act, 1966 (54 of 1966); or

(ii) farmers’ variety; or

(iii) a variety about which there is common knowledge; or

(iv) any other variety which is in public domain;

(k) “farmer” means any person who—

(i) cultivates crops by cultivating the land himself; or

(ii) cultivates crops by directly supervising the cultivation of land through any other person;

or

(iii) conserves and preserves, severally or jointly, with any person any wild species or

traditional varieties or adds value to such wild species or traditional varieties through
selection
and identification of their useful properties;

(l) “farmers’ variety” means a variety which—

(i) has been traditionally cultivated and evolved by the farmers in their fields; or

(ii) is a wild relative or land race of a variety about which the farmers possess the common

knowledge;