Day 1 Session

Farmers’ Rights and Seeds Bill

Dr.Bala Ravi, M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation

1. Farmers Varieties–Valuable Resources for Food security-Today and tomorrowFarmers’ varieties have one or more of the following attributes:

• Better adaptation
• Better performance under low management
• Fair stability for yield or an assured harvest
• High tolerance/resistance to biotic & abiotic factors
• Superior produce as well as post harvest quality
• Crop residue offers better feed/fodder value
• Longer shelf life to produce
• They are source material for crop improvement to sustain increasing demand for agri-producers

• Cardamom - Njallani developed by Sebastian Joseph & Rejimon Joseph
• Rice - Palakkadan Matta, Njavara, Pokkali, Basmati, Chinnaponni,
  • Varappu kodanchan, Kuliyadichan, Chitarikar, Poongar, Noothripattu, for salinity
• Areas - Valan, Kalyan Samba, Nariyan, Kattikar, Shalikar, Sembalai
• Coconut - West Coast Tall, Chavakkad Green, Orange dwarf
• Cotton - Safed Lerma
• Banana - Nendran, Kadali, Ney poovan, Monthan, etc.
• Mango - Kappa, Varikka, Nattumanga, etc
• Brinjal - Iranagere, Mullukathari, Neelakkai, Vellakkai, Varikkai,
  • Valuthumankai
• Green gram - Narippayaru
• Black gram - Madhialundu
• Bittergourd - Mithipakal
• Cauliflower - ‘Ajitgarh’

• Any method of agriculture or horticulture
• Plants and animals in whole or any part thereof other than microorganisms but including seeds,varieties and species and essentially biological processes for production or propagation of plants and animals

• The right to save, use, exchange and sell farm-saved seed and other propagating material and right on the traditional know-ledge relevant to the farmers’ varieties;
• The right to equitable participation in benefit sharing arising from the utilization of farmers’ varieties;
• The right to participate in making decisions, at the national level, on matters related to the conservation and sustainable use of plant genetic resources.

• Sovereignty of States over their biodiversity
• States are required to protect the rights of communities, indigenous people and farmers with respect to their customary use of biodiversity, way of life and associated traditional knowledge systems.
• Access by others to the genetic resources by prior informed consent (PIC) of the right holder and under mutually agreed terms (MAT), if necessary.
• Equitable sharing of benefits arising from commercialization of products derived from the use of genetic resources or knowledge systems conserved by the local or farming communities.
• States are responsible for the conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources.

• Plant Breeder’s Right
• Farmers’ Rights
• Researcher’s Right

• To ensure supply of true to type seeds to farmers;
• To check on sale of spurious and poor quality seed;
• To increase the seed replacement rate for continuous increase in productivity;
• To promote private participation in quality seed production and supply;
• To regulate the liberalised import and sale of seed and planting material including
• transgenic material

9. Researchers’ Right
Free and unrestricted access to all plant genetic resources in India, including protected varieties, by any person for the purpose of conducting experiment or research, including use in breeding for developing new commercial variety. This right is regulated in the case of repeated use a protected variety as a parental line for commercial production of a new variety.

10. Farmers’ Right
Farmers’ Right accrued from a recognition that farmers are:Cultivators, Conservers and Breeders

13. Compulsory Licensing Sec. 42PVPFR Authority can grant compulsory license of a registered variety, when:

• The var on completion of 3 years from registration
• The Breeder or agent fails to meet the demand for seeds,
• Not meeting the demand for seed at reasonable prices

• Indian farmers have evolved a rich assembly of varieties suited to different agro-climatic conditions and uses
• These varieties constitute about 75 % of current seed supply in the country
• National plant breeding heavily depends on these farmers’ varieties
• With increasing liberalization private R&D in plant breeding is increasing
• Private plant breeding is demanding increasing monopoly on seeds
• Indian agricultural ethos are deeply entrenched in the traditional right of farmers on saving, re-sowing, exchanging, bartering and selling planting material
• These seed rights are integral to the livelihood of millions of farmers.

17. Role of Seed Law in National Scenario



18. Why a Seeds Law?

• To ensure supply of true to type seeds to farmers;
• To check on sale of spurious and poor quality seed;
• To increase the seed replacement rate for continuous increase in productivity;
• To promote private participation in quality seed production and supply;
• To regulate the liberalised import and sale of seed and planting material including transgenic material;

• The Seed legislation is essential to promote production and sale of newly developed kinds or varieties of seeds.
• Important to regulate the supply of quality seeds of kinds and varieties to farmers.
• Important that this is done without compromising the interest of the farmers/primary conserver and the sustainability of Indian agriculture.
• It has to be in harmony with the Plant Protection of Varieties and Farmers Rights Act 2001 and BD Act, 2002.
• It should be in compliance with the existing procedure for the assessment and release of genetically modified crop varieties.
• It should achieve mutually inclusive growth of farmers and commercial seed systems.
• The Committee strongly recommended that the PPV&FR Act, 2001 should be made fully operative first, before passing/ implementing ‘The Seeds Bill, 2004’ so as to ensure the harmony between the two.

• Central Seed Committee invested with superior national authority on implementation (S 3)
• The CSC does seed programming, development, planning, set seed standards and labeling requirements and register seeds
• CSC to constitute and control Sub-Committees on Seed Registration & Seed Certification (S.7)
• Every State to have State Seed Committee to advice CSC on registration of regional varieties, registration of Seed producer, processor and trader, to implement and monitor the Act (S.11)
• Seed certification regulated & governed by Central and State Seed Testing Laboratories (S.32)
• Enforcement of Bill by the State Government with the help of Seed Inspectors and SSTLs (S.34)
• Only seed of registered variety is allowed for sale.
• Regular or provisional registration is done by Registration Sub-Committee shall grant (S.13)
• Registration is compulsory for seed producer, processing unit and stockist/dealer (S.21,22)
• Registration is mandatory for Horticultural nurseries with traceability of planting material and data on mother trees, etc (S.23)
• No requirements except MLT data is specified for registering variety, (S13,14)
• Provisional registration for two years allowed for transgenic variety based on furnished MLT information, in manner to be prescribed (S.15)
• Duration of registration is 15/18 years for annuals/perennials-option for a second equal term (S.13)
• Accredited centers of ICAR, SAUs and other organizations satisfying eligibility requirements to conduct MLTs (S.19)
• Mandatory labeling. Label to state expected performance on the basis of MLTs and also the seed standards (S.20)
• Compensation claim through Consumer Protection Act for misleading labeling on performance of seed sold (S.20)
• Seed certification by the State Seed Certification Agency is voluntary (S.28)
• Seed producing organizations and individuals are to be accredited for seed certification and self-certification allowed (S.27)
• Seeds with “harmful” technologies (GURT & Terminator) not to be registered (S.18)
• An Appellate Authority for expeditious decision on disputes (S.31)
• No seed export without meeting domestic need and by endangering national food security (S.37)
• Penal offences are misbranding, sale of un-registered seeds, marketing sub-standard seeds, misleading with false information/labeling, and obstructing officials from discharging duty (S.38)
• Penalty vary from fine Rs. 5000 to 50,000 and prison up to 6 months (S.38)
• Legal loophole to protect high officials of private seed companies from penal action

• This Act shall not restrict the right of the farmer to save, use, exchange, share or sell his farm seeds and planting material, except that he shall not sell such seed or planting material under a brand name or which does not conform to the minimum limit of germination, physical purity, genetic purity prescribed under clause (a) or clause (b) of section 6.

• Seeds Bill is not harmonized with PPVFR Act and the BD Act.
• The farmers’ right on seed is taken away with a negative rider by enforcing conformity of farmers’ seeds to the minimum limit of germination, physical purity and genetic purity prescribed for commercial seed trade by seed companies.
• Seeds Bill is ambivalent on the connection between marketing right and plant breeder’s or farmers’ rights on the variety (sec. 14)
• Grant of EMR to variety, which has not received PBR under PPVFR, nullifies the need for establishing PBR. This may provide a useful escape route to seed industry from the important public interest liabilities linked to PBR. This is totally effective on hybrid varieties.
• The Bill offers de facto ‘Super patent’ protection to hybrids with EMR for 30/36 years and even beyond.
• The origin, ownership and legal access issues related to registered variety are left out, to allow possibility for:

• Unchecked commercialization of public domain varieties, including farmers varieties by private parties.
• Denial of opportunity for benefit sharing to farmers.

• The free access to Indian plant genetic resources for conventional breeding, registration under the Seeds Bill without prior registration under PPVFR Act and legal option possible for exporting seed opens a broad gateway for ‘piracy’ of Indian plant genetic resources.
• Bill leaves ambiguity on Multi-location Testing to encourage legitimization of exaggerated performance claims couched in conditionalities to deny compensation to farmers on failure of seed. The Bill does not recognize the need for one independent agency to conduct and be accountable for determination of this important qualifying economic criterion of registered variety.
• Provision for provisional registration of transgenic variety is gross violation of biosafety norms of the EPA.
• The compensation through Consumer Protection Act under existing CPA system is difficult, if not impossible to small/ medium farmers from far flung villages. The District Forum or the State Council under CPA are designed to urban consumers, has no expertise in agriculture to award a fair and fast decision on compensation.
• Labeling regulation can be impractical on many bulky clonal /perennial crop propagules. This needs alternate quality assurance
• Tissue cultured propagules are excluded from the purview of this Bill
• The self certification provision opens scope for abuse and fraudulent practices.
• The system of Seed Inspectors and Central and State Seed Testing institutions, had proved their incompetence in ensuring fair seed trade practices. There is no accountability to the misuse of powers delegated to the Seed Inspectors, who are junior level staff.
• The penal provisions are devised with pro-trade and anti-farmer perception. Penalties are mild in relation to the graveness of offenses and the harm it can cause to the fragile economy and livelihood of farmers
• The Bill is highly bureaucratic, designed for bureaucratic style of implementation with many deliberately left loose ends, abundant scope for interventions, regulations and maneuvering on many critical aspects of the subject matter

• Farmers' seeds are to be exempted from the important requirement of this Bill that varieties registered under this law alone could be sold for the purpose of sowing or planting.
• Seed production and marketing traditionally carried out by farmers are to be taken out from the scope of the Bill
• Farmers’ rights on seed totally restored by removing the negative rider.
• Place this sec on FR at the beginning of the Bill to avoid any confusion about the registration of the farmers’ seeds.
• Rotating representation of farmers in the Central Seed Committee increased from two to five (each agro-climatic zone).
• Regulation of seed price added as new responsibility of the Central Seed Committee
• Mandatory enforcement of declaration of complete passport data of the parental lines contributing to the origin of the variety under registration, and information relating to the contribution, if any, of any farmer, village community, institution or organisation in breeding, evolving or developing the variety.
• Introduce pre-grant opposition to enhance transparency.
• All performance assessment trials are to be conducted only by accredited centers of the ICAR, SAUs and such other government/semi-government/ autonomous organizations, but not by private organisations.
• No registration to be allowed only on the basis of performance trial data from foreign countries.
• Only Govt/Semi Government organizations are to be accredited Seed Certification agencies and not private individuals/ organizations.
• No seed certification provided by a foreign certification agency to be accepted without local confirmation testing according to Indian law.
• The Committee strongly recommend that the provision of self-certification in the Bill should be dispensed with.
• An audit of the performance of the notified Government Seed Testing Laboratories (STLs) to be included to ensure that they conform to the ISO standards.
• A seed mark, or symbol on the lines of Agmark to denote quality of the seed should be introduced and the labelling provisions under the Seeds Act should be harmonized with the provisions of other Acts such as Weights & Measurement Act, Package Act, etc.
• Provision for extension of registration period of initially registered variety for a like period by the Registration Sub-Committee deleted.
• Special provision on precocious registration of transgenic variety deleted.
• The Registration Sub-Committee shall maintain the National Register of Seeds of kinds and varieties. It may update the list every three months, published it and put up on its website.
• Farmers will not be required to register farmers’ varieties in the National Register of Seeds’. These varieties should be the registered by the District Administration, through Gram Panchayat/BDO/Zila Parishad
• Functional pattern and accountability of Registration Sub-Committee fine tuned.
• Compensation to farmers to be based on the declaration on the expected performance under specified growing conditions. Farmers to claim compensation from the producer, distributor or vendor through a Sub-Committee especially designated for this purpose. Compensation provision should be included in the Bill itself on the lines of Clause 39 (2) of the PPVFR Act. It may be implemented through specially designated arbitration Tribunal/ Compensation Committee/ Fast Track Court/Authority constituted for this purpose by the Government, which may award the compensation within 30 days of the filing of the claim’. Amend the Consumer Protection Act accordingly, if needed., which can be implemented.
• Seed Certification agency responsible for issue of Certificate on seed quality made liable to be a party to the compensation process, along with the seed producer/supplier, in case the seed fails to give the desired yield.
• Powers of Seed Inspector: The sweeping powers to inspect and search a place on a mere belief without a proper procedure to be restrained. The search or breaking open any premises has to be only on the written orders of the District Collector or a Magistrate specially authorised to exercise the powers given under the Seeds Act. The law is required to spell out the controls over the power of the inspector. Farmers, who are not selling any branded seeds are to be specifically exempted from this provision.
• Penalty: Minimum to be Rs.50,000, extendable to Rs.2,00,000 along with an imprisonment extending up to three month or with both depending on the offender involved.
• Fraudulent seed trade to be punished with fine of Rs.2,00,000 extending up to Rs.10 lakhs along with an imprisonment for a term of three months to one year.
• The Committee recommend that the punishment for the offences committed under the new Seeds Bill should be in consonance with the stringent penalties provided in PPV&FR Act, 2001.
• No special protection to high ups of private seed companies, in the event of an offence. All active members of the governing body of any company are to be held responsible individually and collectively for the offences committed by the company.
• The time bar of two years provided to amend the law on account of any arising difficulty is removed, rendering no time bar for amending laws, regulations and rules of this Act.

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