Patent issue: Indian seed growers need awareness

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Hyderabad, Aug 14: Having become a signatory to the TRIPS agreement and passed the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PVPFR) Act, the Indian seed industry is yet to wake up to register their varieties and move towards the big picture of patent regime.

While there are many intellectual property rights (IPRs) issues cropping up globally, the Indian scenario looks like as if there is enough room for many from elsewhere and register their varieties given the poor awareness about PVPFR Act. Though the Act has been enacted ‘by force’ in reality, the awareness is yet to become widespread.

According to S Nagarajan, chairperson, Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority, said due to poor awareness levels, “the Indian seed industry is napping.”

It’s time for the seed industry players to wake up and understand the reality in a patent regime, he said at a workshop on ‘Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PVPFR) and Seed sector’, organised by the All India Crop Biotechnology Association and Biotech Consortium India Ltd.

Nagarajan insisted that the industry must go in for debate on some crucial topics, which will help to explain the importance of the Act.

In fact, the workshop was aimed to create awareness among the key stakeholders about the nuances of the Act with respect to IPRs. He even hinted that the Andhra Pradesh seed sector, which include both institutions and the private seed industry, must gear up to the IPR regime to protect their own rights.

Accepting the fact of poor awareness about PVPFR, Paresh Verma, director (research), Bioseed Research India Pvt Ltd, said, “The current scenario is like a tiger without teeth. The mindset has to change among the scientists, breeders, and farmers as there were no IPRs in the agri sector. However, the industry is slowly realising and a change is happening in the industry.”

The industry is yet to prepare as per the Act, which is confirming to all international standards and recognised by over 130 countries, he added.

Describing the scenario among farmers, Deepak Mullick, director, International Affairs, Association of Seed Industry, said that there is lot of bureaucracy involved in the registration process. While most of them do not go for protection of varieties, the registration process is yet to be approved by the Parliament.