A welcome step
M S Swaminathan

i am happy that at last the Lok Sabha has passed the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Bill. This is a major step in incorporating the ethics and equity provisions of the convention on biological diversity in a sui generis system of varietal protection. If implemented in an effective, transparent and speedy manner, the provisions of the bill will improve crops through breeding as well as revitalise the conservation traditions of tribal and rural communities.

In 1983 the Food and Agricultural Organisation council established a commission on plant genetic resources (pgr) and developed an international undertaking on it. Later, the commission developed the concept of farmers’ rights in order to recognise and reward farmers for their contribution in conservation, selection and improvement of crop genetic resources. In fact, much of the rich diversity occurring within a crop species is the result of community conservation.

In 1994, M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (mssrf) developed a draft plant variety protection act, giving concurrent recognition to the rights of farmers and breeders. Their rights should be mutually reinforcing and not antagonistic in the struggle for sustainable food security. The bill approved by the Lok Sabha retains this important feature.

Farmers’ rights fall into three major categories