Why in news?
The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPV&FRA) marked its 21st Foundation Day on 11 November 2025. During the celebration the government honoured plant breeders and farmers who conserve traditional crop varieties and announced plans to simplify procedures for registering new plant varieties and increase awareness about farmers’ rights.
Background
The PPV&FRA is a statutory body established in 2005 under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001. It functions under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. The Authority’s main role is to grant intellectual property rights to plant breeders for their new varieties while safeguarding the interests of farmers who have evolved or preserved local varieties.
Structure
- Leadership: The Authority is headed by a Chairperson, who acts as the Chief Executive.
- Members: There are 15 members. Eight are ex‑officio representatives from various central ministries and departments; three represent State Agricultural Universities and state governments; and four represent farmers, tribal organisations, the seed industry and women’s groups. A Registrar‑General serves as Member Secretary.
- Offices: The headquarters is in New Delhi, and regional offices operate in various states to facilitate registrations and public awareness.
Functions
- Registration of plant varieties: The Authority registers new varieties, extant varieties (those already in cultivation) and essentially derived varieties. Registration confers exclusive rights to market and produce seed for a set period.
- Farmers’ rights: Farmers may save, use, sow, re‑sow, exchange or sell farm‑saved seed of registered varieties, except selling branded seed. They may also claim reward if a commercial breeder uses a traditional variety they conserved.
- National Register and Gene Bank: The Authority maintains a National Register of Plant Varieties and coordinates with the National Gene Bank to preserve plant genetic resources.
- Awards and awareness: It recognises farmers and communities for conserving indigenous crop diversity through the Plant Genome Saviour Community Awards and undertakes outreach programmes to educate farmers about their rights.
Significance
- Encouraging innovation: By protecting breeders’ rights, the Authority incentivises investment in research and development of high‑yielding, disease‑resistant varieties.
- Protecting biodiversity: Recognising and rewarding farmers for conserving local landraces helps maintain genetic diversity, which is vital for food security and climate resilience.
- Balancing interests: The Act attempts to balance the rights of breeders and farmers, ensuring that commercial seed production does not restrict traditional practices.