India Framework on Farmers’ Rights : From A CBM Perspective

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

SBR 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

SBR 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

SBR 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 Global Community pays the ex situconservation cost National Govts & Global Crop Diversity Trust

SBR 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 pro- nature farming also contributes to environmental service, which is beneficial to all others • NONE PUTS MONEY 2 SUPPORT ON-FARM CONSERVATION

SBR 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.

SBR 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 • New varieties and Extant varieties including Farmers’ varieties are eligible • for registration, • Allows extensive Farmers’ Rights (FRs) • Disclosure of PGR accessed is essential • and provides for Benefit sharing • Mandatory to disclose presence of GURT, • like terminator gene • Allows compulsory licensing on grounds of • levying unreasonable price to seed

Grants protection to : Registration by a farmer, a group or community of farmers D + Relaxed U & S DUS Novelty + DUS • Farmers’ variety- • Extant Variety - • New Variety - The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (2001)

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 1 Right to save, use, sow, re-sow, exchange, share or sell farm produced seed, including the seed of registered variety

Farmers’ Rights as conserver 2 Right to share benefit when farmers’ variety is used for breeding new commercial variety. (Link to National Gene Fund)

Farmers’ Rights as conserver 3 Right to farmers and communities to receive reward and recognition for conserving PGR (India instituted Genome Saviour Award in 2007)

Farmers’ Rights as cultivator 4 Right to get adequate supply of seed of registered varieties at reasonable prices (Link to Compulsory Licensing)

Farmers’ Rights as cultivator 5 Right to claim compensation for under performance of registered variety

Farmers’ Rights as breeder 6 Right to register farmer’s variety

Farmers’ Rights as breeder 7 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 8 Exemption to farmers from paying all fees related to administrative and judicial proceedings under this Act

Farmers’ Rights On socio-political consideration 9 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)

EQUITY, ETHICS & PUBLIC INTEREST Researcher’s Rights Plant Breeder’s Right Farmer’s Rights REASONABLE & HEALTY BALANCE BETWEEN PBR & FR HOW FAR OUR POLITICAL ECNOMY ALLOWS THIS

THANK YOU

India Framework on Farmers’ Rights : From A CBM Perspective