Gene banks push: Farmers told to register traditional crops

TIRUCHY: Farmers conserving traditional crop varieties should register them under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001, to safeguard genetic diversity and scale up cultivation, T Mohapatra, chairman of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority, said on Monday.

Speaking after inaugurating a field gene bank for banana at the ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana here, he warned that declining interest in farming is putting agro-biodiversity at risk, making conservation and registration of farmers’ varieties crucial.

Mohapatra said the Union government is promoting field gene banks for horticultural crops such as coconut, banana and pomegranate to enable large-scale multiplication and utilisation of conserved varieties. He noted that farmers play a key role in preserving crop diversity, which underpins sustainable agriculture.

Highlighting the importance of bananas in agro-biodiversity, he said India is among the world’s largest producers and consumers, with the crop accounting for nearly 30% of the country’s horticultural output of about 370 million metric tonnes. States including Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka and those in the Northeast host rich banana diversity.

Under the PPV&FRA framework, farmers’ contributions to conserving plant genetic resources are formally recognised and rewarded. Community awards carry a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh, while individual farmers can receive Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, along with a support price of up to Rs 15 lakh over three years for conservation efforts, he said.

Providing an update on registrations, Mohapatra said over 21,500 applications have been received nationwide, of which more than 10,500 varieties have been registered so far. Nearly half of these are farmers’ varieties, reflecting growing participation, though more awareness is needed.

He stressed that government efforts are not limited to protecting intellectual property-tagged crops but extend to traditional varieties preserved by farmers over generations. “Farmers should come forward to register the crops they have been conserving,” he said.

Later, Mohapatra interacted with over 120 farmers and entrepreneurs, emphasising the need to improve awareness on intellectual property rights and the provisions of the PPV&FRA Act.

Officials, including NRCB director R Selvarajan, PPV&FRA registrar general Dinesh Kumar Agarwal, legal advisor Raj Ganesh and ICAR assistant director general VB Patel, participated in the event.