What changes are planned for the plant variety Act?, Pg8

Key Highlights:

• The Union Agriculture Minister announced amendments to the Protection of Plant Variety and Farmers’ Rights (PPV&FRA) Act.
• A committee led by R.S. Paroda has initiated consultations with stakeholders on the proposed amendments.
• Discussions include redefining 'variety needs' and expanding the definition of 'seed'.
• Concerns have been raised regarding the registration of community-developed seeds and potential misuse of DUS tests.

Detailed Insights:

• The PPV&FRA Act, enacted two decades ago, is being reviewed to incorporate technological advancements, scientific progress, and changes in trade and farmer requirements.
• Proposed amendments aim to align the definition of 'variety needs' with the draft Seeds Bill of 2019, potentially including a combination of genotypes.
• The redefinition of 'seed' may include seedlings, tubers, bulbs, rhizomes, roots, tissue culture plantlets, synthetic seeds, and other vegetatively propagated material.
• The definition of 'breeder' may be broadened to include both public and private establishments in the seeds sector.
• The committee is also discussing the importance of traits and their inclusion in Distinctness, Uniformity and Stability (DUS) guidelines.
• There are proposals to define "abusive act" to penalize the production, sale, marketing, export, or import of a variety with the same or an identical denomination as another variety.
• Concerns exist that seeds undergoing DUS tests should not be registered under an individual's name to prevent misuse and monopolization by private companies.
• Farmers' groups suspect that proper DUS testing was not followed in the registration of certain seeds, such as the njavara paddy seed from South India.
• Small farmers are often unaware of techno-legal issues and approach seeds as a shared material, which clashes with the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) framework.
• Some nations are exploring open-source approaches to protect local plant varieties from the IPR system.
• Despite provisions for accountability, the criteria for compensating farmers for the non-performance of IP-protected propagating materials are not yet detailed in the Act's Rules.

Key Concepts Involved:

• PPV&FRA Act: Legislation protecting plant varieties and farmers' rights.
• DUS Test: Determines if a plant variety is distinct, uniform, and stable.
• Intellectual Property Rights (IPR): Legal rights protecting creations of the mind.