Letter to Chairperson- PPVFRA, about FAQ booklet brought out by the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority and uploaded on official website

by Gene Campaign on December 18, 2019 in

To: 10^th December 2019

The Chairperson,

Protection of Plant Varieties &

Farmers’ Rights Authority,

Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare,

NASC Complex, New Delhi 110 012.

Sub: FAQ booklet brought out by the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority and uploaded on official website

Dear Dr Prabhu,

We write to you with great concern regarding some content in the FAQ booklet brought out by the Authority which is uploaded on the PPV&FR Authority’s official website.

Most objectionable is the interpretation of Farmers and Farmers’ Rights which is contrary to the legislative intent exhibited by our law makers during the creation of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act 2001.

Several knowledgeable people have sat in Expert Committees and worked with three successive central governments to create the content of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Bill. Two Joint Parliamentary Committees have discussed the draft bill before giving it final shape. The PPV&FR Act emerged as a unique legislation that stands out for the strength it has given to the rights of farmers. No other country has given Farmers Rights (only exemptions) in its sui generis legislation. It is these rights of farmers that have been undermined by the language in the FAQ booklet created by the Authority.

We do not believe that the intent of the language is malicious or that there was a deliberate effort to weaken Farmers’ Rights to favour the seed industry but that is unfortunately how it reads.

Whereas question 5 of the booklet correctly interprets ‘What are Farmers Rights”, question 78 says “only small and marginal farmers involved in subsistence farming can claim farmers’ rights”.This is simply not true and it is not indicated anywhere in the Act. Any farmer anywhere in India can claim farmers rights to its fullest extent.

In question 71 (and 70), it is not farmers’ rights that are mentioned but ‘farmers’ exemptions’. This is ridiculous. India does not grant exemptions to its farmers, it grants rights. The language and the intent of the law is clear on this. Where has ‘exemptions’ come from? This is the language of UPOV, which does not grant farmers rights, only exemptions. India is not a member of UPOV, and in fact it took a conscious decision to move away from the UPOV model and follow its own path in drafting its sui generis law.

Equally incorrect is the statement “what is allowed under farmers’ rights is only use of registered variety in a small scale in an unbranded manner”. The PPV&FR Act does proscribe branding of self-produced seed of a registered variety but nowhere does it mention anything about scale. How has the Authority arbitrarily introduced ‘small scale’ on its own?

Question 84 is a specific question on the interpretation of farmers’ rights as contained in Section 39 (1) (iv) of the Act. In a piece of creative writing, the Authority’s booklet says “What is permissible under the Farmers Rights in Indian Law is only commercialisation for subsistence farming. Farmers’ rights are applicable only for subsistence and marginal farmers and not for commercial farmers”. Such a condition again is arbitrary and has been introduced by the Authority. It is not to be found anywhere in the PPV& FR Act and hence cannot be included in the FAQ booklet.

As you can see, there are grave distortions in the FAQ booklet and all of these distortions tend in one direction, which is that of curtailing the legal rights granted to farmers in the Indian law. Limits to the practice of Farmers’ Rights cannot be determined by a whimsical interpretation in a booklet published by the Authority.

You will appreciate that such a situation cannot be allowed to stand and the booklet must be withdrawn in its present form. It should be revised and reissued so that it is an informative document that is factually correct and without bias.

We would be happy to work together with the Authority on this issue if it is so desired. We look forward to hear from you at your earliest convenience.

With best wishes,

Dr SumanSahai

Gene Campaign

Copy to: Shri NS Tomar, Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare

(Email: minister-agri@nic.in,ns.tomar@sansad.nic.in, kotharin@nic.in)

Endorsed by:

Aasha Ramesh, Women’s Rights Researcher and Activist, Karnataka
Ajmer Singh Lokhowal, State President Punjab, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU)
AK Devison, Kerala Coconut Farmers Association & South India Coordination Committee of Farmers Movements, Kerala
Akash Naoghare, Coordinator, Beejotsav, Nagpur
Ananthoo, Safe Food Alliance, Tamil Nadu
Anita Paul, Grassroots, Uttarakhand
Anitha Reddy, Ankura Mahila Sangha, Karnataka
Apoorva Oza, Aga Khan Rural Support Programme, Ahmedabad
Aruna Rodrigues, Sunray Harvesters, Mhow, Madhya Pradesh
Avik Saha, Lawyer, Jai Kisan Andolan, Delhi
Avil Borkar, Secretary, Gramin Yuva Pragatik Mandal, Bhandara
Badagalapura Nagendra, President, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, Karnataka
Badribhai Joshi, Gujarat Khedut Samaj
Balaji Sankar, Tharcharbu Iyakkam, Sirkali, Tamil Nadu
BhagyaLaxmi, WASSAN, Hyderabad
Chakri, Samalochana, Andhra Pradesh
Chamarasa Mali Patil, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, Karnataka
Chukki Nanjundaswamy, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, Karnataka and Amrithabhoomi
CK Janu, Adivasi Gothra Mahasabha, Kerala
Dahyabhai Patel, President, Kisan Sabha, Gujarat
Debjeet Sarangi, Living Farms, Odisha
Devesh Patel, Madhya Gujarat Sajiv Kheti Mandal
Dhan Singh Sherawat, Bharatiya Kissan Union (BKU), Maharashtra
Dinesh Balam, WASSAN, Hyderabad
Dr Anamik Shah, Vice Chancellor, Gujarat Vidyapith, Ahmedabad
Dr Anupam Paul, Agriculture Scientist, Kolkata
Dr Ashish Mital, General Secretary, All India Kisan Mazdoor Sabha
Dr Ashok Patel, Former Vice Chancellor, Sardar Krushinagar Dantiwada Agricultural University
Dr Debal Deb, Ecologist, CENTDIS, Odisha/West Bengal
Dr G S Koshal, Retd. Director, Department of Agriculture, Government of Madhya Pradesh
Dr K G Mehta, Gujarat Association of Agricultural Sciences (GAAS), Gujarat
Dr K S Varaprasad, Former Director, ICAR-IIOR and International Consultant, Hyderabad
Dr M L Sanyasi Rao, Program Manager, WASSAN, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
Dr Nandita Shah, SHARAN, Mumbai
Dr Nilesh Heda, Secretary, Sanvardhan, Washim, Maharashtra
Dr N P Patel, President, Gujarat Seed Producers’ Association
Dr R A Khimani, Gujarat Vidyapith, Ahmedabad
Dr R A Sherasiya, Former Director of Agriculture, Government of Gujarat
Dr Sabyasachi Das, RRA Network, Hyderabad
Dr Satish Gogulwar, Director, Amhi Amchya Arogyasathi, Gadchiroli, Maharashtra
Dr Sudarshan Iyengar, Former Vice Chancellor, Gujarat Vidyapith, Ahmedabad
Dr Sujatha Byravan, scientist, Chennai
Dr Tarak Kate, Director, Dharamitra, Wardha, Maharashtra
Dr Uma Shankari, Rashtriya Raithu Seva Samithi, Chittoor district, Andhra Pradesh
Dr V Rukmini Rao, Gramya Resource Centre for Women, Hyderabad
Dr V T Sundaramurthy, Ex- Project Coordinator and Principal Scientist and Head, CICR, Coimbatore
Dr.Krishan Bir Chaudhary, Bhartiya Krishak Samaj, New Delhi
Gopi Deva, OFM, Chennai
Gurnam Singh Charuni, Bhartiya Kissan Union, Haryana
Harinath Rao Nagulavancha, Farmer, Nalgonda, Telangana
Harish Panwar, Beej Swaraj Abhiyan, Madhya Pradesh
Hemang Baxi, PPV&FR Consultant, Ahmedabad
Himakiran Anugula, Senaapathy Kangayam Cattle Research Foundation, Tamil Nadu
Jagdish Singh, State President, Bharatiya Kisan Union, Madhya Pradesh
Jayalakshmi,Grameena Mahila Okkuta, Kolar district, Karnataka
JM Veerasangaiah, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, Karnataka
Jyothi Raj, Booshakthi Kendra, Tumkur, Karnataka
K. Sella Mutthu, President, Tamil Nadu Farmers Association, Tamil Nadu
Kannaiyan Subramaniam, South India Coordination Committee of Farmers Movements
Kapil Shah, Jatan, Vadodara, Gujarat
Karri Lakshunnaidu, Farmer, Kandisa village, Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh
Kaustubh Pandharipande, Secretary, Samvedana, Nagpur.
Kavitha Kuruganti, Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA), Bangalore
Kavitha Srinivasan, MAKAAM-Karnataka, Karnataka
Kirankumar Vissa, Rythu Swarajya Vedika, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
KM Rajegowda, Karnataka Rajya RaithaSangha, Karnataka
Krishna Prasad, Sahaja Samrudha, Karnataka
KT Gangadhar, Karnataka Rajya RaithaSangha, Karnataka
KV Rajkumar, South Indian Sugarcane Growers Association, Tamil Nadu
Laxman Singh Muniya, Lok Jagruti Manch, Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh
Mamatha Yajaman, GAMANA Women’s Collective, Karnataka
MS Selvaraj, VTMS, Tamil Nadu
Nandini Jayaram, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, Karnataka
Nasreen Basha, Tamilnadu Resource Team, Chennai
Nilesh Desai, Beej Swaraj Manch, Bhopal
Nulenuru Shankrappa, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, Karnataka
Pamayan, Adisil Cholai, Madurai, Tamil Nadu
Ponnuthai Sappani, Kalanjium Women Farmers Association, Tamilnadu
Pooran Singh, Working President, Bharatiya Kisan Union, Rajasthan
Prasant Mohanty, NIRMAN, Odisha
Pravin Mote, Director, Center for People’s Collective, Nagpur
Prof Ashok Kundapur, Environment and Energy Pro Activist, Karnataka
Prof Hemant Shah, Economist, Gujarat
Prof Kshitij Urs, Adjunct Professor of Public Poilcy, NLSIU and state coordinator of RRAN Karnataka.
Pushpa Achanta, Women against Sexual Violence & State Repression (WSS), Karnataka
RadhikaRammohan, Restore, Chennai
Raghav Sharan Sharma, All India Agragami Kisan Sabha
Rajani Dave, Gujarat Sarvodaya Mandal
Rajbir Singh Jadaun, State President, Bhartiya Kissan Union (BKU), Uttar Pradesh
Rajveer Singh Jadaun, State President, Bharatiya Kisan Union, Uttar Pradesh
RakeshTikait, National Spokesperson, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU)
Raman, Tula Organic Clothing, Chennai
Ramasubramanian, Samanvaya Consulting, Chennai
Ramesh Patel, Srishti, Ahmedabad
Ramesh, Satvik: Promoting Ecological Agriculture, Bhuj
Rattan Mann, State President, Haryana, Bharatiya Kisan Union (BKU)
Ravindranath, Kerala Coconut Farmers Association, Kerala
Rohit Parakh, India For Safe Food, Mumbai
Ruldu Singh Mansa, Punjab Kisan Union & Kul Hind Maha Kisan Sabha
S Venkatesan, South Indian Sugarcane Growers Association, Tamil Nadu
SajalKulkarni, RRA Network, Maharashtra
Sanjay Chowdhary, State In Charge, Uttarakhand, BKU
Satnam Singh Cheema, State President, Bhartiya Kissan Union (BKU), Uttarakhand
Seema Kulkarni, Team Member, SOPPECOM, Pune
Sejal Dand and Neeta Hardikar, Anna Suraksha Adhikaar Abhiyan, Gujarat
Selvam Ramasamy, Tamil Nadu Organic Farmers’ Federation, Tamil Nadu
Sharada Gopal, Jagruti, Karnataka
Sharanya Nayak, Deve Vetti, Krushna Saunta and Dhanmati Saunta, Humane Trust, Koraput, Odisha
Sheelu Francis, Women’s Collective, Chennai
Shilpa Vasavada, WGWLO, Ahmedabad
Shiney Varghese, Member, 4^th HLPE (High Level Panel of Experts) of the UN Committee on World Food Security, FAO
Soma KP, Women’s rights activist, New Delhi
Stella Issac, Kalanjium Unorganised Workers Union, Tamilnadu
Subha Bharadwaj, Organic Terrace Garden, Tamil Nadu
Sudha Reddy, Eco Foundation for Sustainable Alternatives, Karnataka
Sukhdev Singh Gill, State President, Himachal Pradesh, BharatiyaKisan Union
Sundarrajan, Poovulagin Nanbargal, Tamil Nadu
Suresh Kouth, Bhartiya Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, (Haryana)
Swaraj Das, Project Affected Peoples Association (PAPA), Asansol
Swarna Bhat, Grameena Kooli Karmikare Sanghatane (Grakoos), Karnataka
Swati Desai, Paryavaran Suraksha Samiti, Gujarat
Umendra Dutt, Kheti Virasat Mission, Punjab
Usha Soolapani, Thanal, Kerala
Varsingh Ninama, Lok Jagruti Manch, Ratlam, Madhya Pradesh
Vasant Futane, Sanwad, Amravati
Vidyadhar Olkha, State President,Bhartiya Kissan Union (BKU), Rajasthan
Vijay Jawandhia, Shetkari Sangathana, Wardha
Vijay Panda, Bharat Jan Andolan, Chattisgarh
Virendra Kumar Shrivastava, Laghu Simant Krishak Morcha, Uttar Pradesh
Vitthalbhai Dudhatra, President, Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, Gujarat
Yudhvir Singh, National Secretary, Bharatiya Kisan Union & All India Coordination Committee of Farmers Movements

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COVID Crisis

Dealing with Covid Crisis:-
• Provide adequate storage facilities for farmers to store their non-perishable commodities and
provide negotiable warehouse receipts.
• Support FPOs / PACS and other farmers organizations to use all the channels – APMC, retail
chains, wholesale markets & Processers – to market their perishable commodities.
•Develop a contingency plan to ensure that the farmers and SHG members bounce back after
the economic crisis.
• NABARD should also be involved in providing relief to the affected farmers and SHG members
through their NGO partners by providing necessary grants to NGOs.
• NABARD to fund the transportation of the perishable commodities, particularly vegetables and
fruits, to markets – retail chains, wholesale, processing industries and APMCs.
• FPOs be instantly give equity grant of Rs.10,00,000 to each FPO for the purposes of working
capital for the FPO to buy the product of the farmers and supply to distant markets.
Source- APMAS

Dealing with Covid crisis:-
• Ensure that all regulated markets are fully functional with new norms due to the Pandemic.
• Increased procurement of agriculture commodities under Price Support Scheme (PSS) /
Minimum support Price (MSP)
• Mobile procurement of agriculture commodities at village level can be managed by the PACS,
FPOs/ FPCs & SHG federations.
• Supply of free rations for agriculture workers and farmers.
• Special package for small poultry farmers & small ruminant farmers.
• Use banking system, electronic payment systems & PDS effectively
• All the pensioners in India can be paid their 3 months pension in one go through the DBT
system.
• For a period of at least 3 months the entire loan interest burden of farmers, SHG members and
MSME borrowers is borne by Centre Govt.
Source-APMAS

Problems faced by SHGs & Federations:
• No meetings at all levels – SHGs, VOs & Cluster Level Federations.
• No savings & credit activities which may affect the financial discipline.
• Many of the SHG members engaged in economic activities, non-form & off-farm, are deeply
affected by the lockdown, particularly eateries.
• Cash-flow management problems for SHG members are transactions stopped.
• There is no specific counseling or support available for addressing the situation.
• SHG members dependent on wages are not able to get NREGS works and other informal
labor work, which is not available.
• Not able to conduct trainings for farmers, organize FFS, field days, etc.
• Not able to conduct trainings for farmers, organize FFS, field days, etc.
• FPOs don’t have any contingency plans to deal with the crisis.
Source-APMAS

Challenges Faced by Livestock Keeper:-
• Cattle feed storage for milch animals.
• Milk procurement almost stopped and prices fallen as of the hotels and restaurants are closed.
• Fodder shortage and not able to access.
• Small ruminants-fodder shortage and drinking water problems.
• Weekly mandis closed- sale of small ruminants is a problem-fear of vrius of eating chicken/meat.
Source-APMAS

Challenges Faced by Farmers:-
• Traders started black marketing of agriculture inputs – Prices up.
• Labor not available – Timely
Harvesting etc are done by family members only.
• Most of the markets / APMC are not open / open for few hours with reduced demand.
• Problems in interstate transport of produce
• Prices of certain commodities like Tomato are low – prices of Potato up.
• Perishable commodities – Prices down.
• Trading of nonperishables stopped – storage is a problem.
• Farmers canceling pre orders to nurseries.
• Farmer not procuring Seedlings-over aged seedlings-Losses.
• Cash flows are almost zero for farmers.
• Unable to go to work as advised by police and healthy workers- no wage income.
Source- APMAS

Letter to Chairperson- PPVFRA, about FAQ booklet brought out by the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority and uploaded on official website

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