ABSTRACT
ARPITA DAS,1 BHOLANATH SAHA,2 P. K. BHATTACHARYA,3 and ANITA ROY3
1 Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India, E-mail: arpitacoh@gmail.com 2 Dr. Kalam Agricultural College, Bihar Agricultural University, Kishanganj, Bihar, India 3 Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Mohanpur, Nadia, West Bengal, India
Abstract ................................................................................................. 194 6.1 Introduction .................................................................................. 194 6.2 Farmers’ Rights: Recognition ...................................................... 195 6.3 History and Genesis of Indian Legislation for Farmers’ Right .... 196 6.4 Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Right Act 2001 ......... 198 6.5 Who Is the Farmer? ...................................................................... 199 6.6 What Is a Farmers’ Variety? ......................................................... 199 6.7 Farmers’ Rights and Privilege ...................................................... 200 6.8 National Gene Fund ...................................................................... 204 6.9 Procedure for Registration of Farmers’ Variety ........................... 205 6.10 The Plant Genome Saviour Community Recognition Award .... 213 6.11 Implication of the Act to the Farming Community .................... 214
6.12 Conclusion ................................................................................. 215 Keywords .............................................................................................. 216 References ............................................................................................. 216
ABSTRACT
India has established an intellectual property rights regime that covers plant varieties and enacted “The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act 2001” that seeks to protect the rights of farmers and breeders on plant varieties. Within this framework, India has chosen to put in place a sui generis system, one that has the declared objective of protecting farmers’ rights. This act recognizes the role of individual farmers and farming community in the improvement and conservation of varieties and traditional landraces. The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPV & FR) Act is the legislative expression of this commitment of the Indian state. This chapter reviews the PPV & FR Act in the perspective of farmers’ right and privilege status of farmers’ variety registration and implication of this act in the farming sector in India.
