The Registration of Plant Varieties by Farmers in India: A Status Report

As a signatory to the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) Agreement of 1994, India was obliged to enact legislation that brought plant varieties within the general purview of intellectual property. The Protection of Plant Varieties and FarmersÕ Rights Act, 2001, was enacted in fulfilment of that obligation. This article examines the issue of registration of crop varieties by farmers in India under the Act. Trends in registration do not indicate that the Act has spurred innovation. The right to registration of farmersÕ varieties has served primarily as a means to recognise the past contributions of farmers to the preservation of traditional biodiversity. No tangible pecuniary benefits have as yet accrued to farmers who have registered their varieties, and, in the circumstances, the value of farmersÕ varieties may lie mainly in their use for further research. The lack of data on the use of farmersÕ varieties in India creates difficulties in determining their true role within the agricultural sector. The registration process may therefore be useful in ensuring that the use of traditional varieties is adequately documented. There is an urgent need to extend the five-year time limit imposed on the registration of farmersÕ varieties in order to ensure that all such varieties are documented and preserved.