A National Consultation on Farmers’ Rights to Genetic Resources – Stewardship or Ownership was held in Bangalore on the 22nd and 23rd of May 2009. It was co-sponsored by Green Foundation, Bangalore, and the Center for Gandhian Studies, Bangalore University. The participants included all groups of stakeholders in the issues that were discussed, including farmers and farmers’ representatives, NGOs, the PVPFRA, legal experts, as well as social activists and concerned citizens.
The featured speakers were:
Dr Nagarajan (Chairman, PVP Authority of India)
Dr Devinder Sharma (Food Policy Analyst, Forum for Biotechnology and Food Security, New Delhi)
Dr Bala Ravi (Advisor, MSSRF & former ADG (IPR) ICAR, Chennai)
Dr M K Ramesh (Professor, National Law School of India University, Bangalore)
Dr K R Srinivas (Associate Fellow, RIS for Developing Countries, New Delhi)
Dr Narayan Reddy (Organic Farmer, Doddaballapur)
Mr Kumaraswamy (Environmentalist, Karnataka)
Dr Jeevan Kumar (Director, Center for Gandhian Studies, Bangalore)
Mr Jayaram (Secretariat of Jaivik Krushi Society)
Several organizations and NGOs were also represented including:
SAWTEE Nepal (Mr Kamlesh Adhikari), Forum for Biotechnology and Food Security (Dr Bhaskar Goswami), RANWA, Pune
(Mr Raghunandan Velankar), Richaria Campaign (Mr Jacob Nellithanam), Ms. Sangita Sharma (Activist My right to safe food), GREEN Staff
The first day of the Consultation focused on the broader understanding of the Plant Variety Protection and Farmers Rights Act, to finer aspects of the limitations within the Act and the lack of harmony between the different legislations and the Seed laws. The second day was devoted to presentation by farmers on their experiences in developing, selecting and conserving their varieties, by a jury consisting of:
Shri. P.B.Sawanth, Supreme Court Justice Dr.Nagarajan, Chairperson, PVPFRA
Dr.Devinder Sharma, Food Policy Analsyt
Dr.Sharan Angadi, Director of research Nunhems
M.K.Ramesh, Professor, National Law School of India University, Bangalore
Dr. Vanaja Ramprasad, Managing Trustee, GREEN Foundation |
