The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act of India

Author(s): Pratibha Brahmi, Sanjeev Saxena and B. S. Dhillon

Source: Current Science , 10 February 2004, Vol. 86, No. 3 (10 February 2004), pp. 392-
398
Published by: Current Science Association

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GENERAL ARTICLES

The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers'

Rights Act of India
Pratibha Brahmi*, Sanjeev Saxena and B. S. Dhillon

The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers ' Rights Act was passed by the Indian Government i
2001. After India became signatory to the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rig
Agreement (TRIPs) in 1994, a legislation was required to be formulated. Article 27.3 (b) of this agre
ment requires the member countries to provide for protection of plant varieties either by a patent
by an effective sui generis system or by any combination thereof. Thus, the member countries ha
the choice to frame legislations that suit their own system and India exercised this option. The ex
ting Indian Patent Act, 1970 excluded agriculture and horticultural methods of production fr
patentability. The sui generis system for protection of plant varieties was developed integrating th
rights of breeders, farmers and village communities, and taking care of the concerns for equitabl
sharing of benefits. We attempt here to critically analyse the provisions of legislations for th
effective implementation.

Plant GENETIC RESOURCES (PGRs) are the foundation for Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPs) in 19
the development of a food and nutritionally secure society. such a legislation was necessitated. Article 27.3 (b) of this
In addition, plants have many uses, including feed, fibre, agreement requires the member countries to provide
medicine and industrial applications. PGRs were treated protection of plant varieties either by a patent or by
as the 'heritage of mankind' and were shared freely among effective sui generis system or by any combination there
nations, till the concerns for conservation of biological Thus, the member countries had the choice to frame le
diversity were raised by the Convention on Biological lations suiting their own system and India exercised
Diversity (CBD), which came into force in 1993. The con- option. The existing Indian Patent Act, 1970 excluded
servation and sustainable utilization and access to bio- culture and horticultural methods of production from
logical diversity were considered as national sovereignty entability. The sui generis system for protection of pl
by CBD. Consequently, many issues regarding the rights varieties was developed integrating the rights of breed
of the conservers, users, breeders, farmers and intellectual farmers and village communities, and taking care of the
property have emerged. concerns for equitable sharing of benefits. It offers flexi
During 2001, significant developments have taken place bility with regard to protected genera/s
with respect to the realization of the rights of breeders, period of protection, when compared to other
farmers and local communities. The Protection of Plant lations existing or being formulated in differen
Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act (PPVFR) was passed The Act covers all categories of plant
by the Indian Government. The present article is an at- organisms. The genera and species of t
tempt to critically analyse the provisions of the legisla- protection shall be notified through a ga
tions for their effective implementation. appropriate rules and by-laws are framed for the enforce
ment of the Act.

The genesis of the Indian legislation

Objectives
In India, agricultural research including the development
of new plant varieties has largely been the concern of the
The objectives of the Act are as follows:
government and public sector institutions. Earlier, India
did not have any legislation to protect the plant varieties (i) To provide for the establishment of an effective system
and, in fact, no immediate need was felt. However, after for protection of plant varieties.
India became signatory to the Trade Related Aspects of (ii) To provide for the rights of farmers and plant breeders.
(iii) To stimulate investment for research and develop
: : : ment and to facilitate growth of the seed industry.
The authors are in the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, . .. t
Pusa Campus, New Delhi 110 012, India. (lv) To ensure availab
*For correspondence, (e-mail: [email protected]) ing materials of i

392 CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 86, NO. 3, 10 FEBRUARY 2004

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 GENERAL ARTICLES

The printed version of the Act is published in the News- Farmer

letter of Seed Association of India2. The Act has 11 chap
ters and is divided in 97 clauses. The first chapter has title, Any person who
and the definitions used in context of the Act. The last
chapter is on miscellaneous clauses. The other nine chap- (i) cultivates croPs by cultivating the land hims
ters deal with PPVFR authority, registration of plant va- (ll) cultlvates croPs b? directly supervising th
rieties, duration and effect of registration and benefit tI0n of land throuSh any other Person' or
sharing, surrender and revocation of certificate, farmer's (lu) conserves and preserves, severally or jointly, wi
rights, compulsory licence, plant varieties protection appel- Person any wdd species or traditional varietie
late tribunal, finance, accounts, audit, infringement, offen- value to such wild sPecies or traditional varieties
ces and penalties etc selection and identification of their useful propert
Farmers' variety
Some important définitions
A variety which
Some of the important definitions in the context of the
Act include the following: (i) has been traditionally cultivated and evolved by the
farmers in their fields, or

Variety (") is a wild relative or land race of a variety about which

the farmers possess common knowledge.
A plant grouping except microorganisms within a single
botanical taxon of the lowest known rank, which can be Salient features of the Act

(i) defined by the expression of the characteristics resulting Authority

from a given genotype of a plant of that plant grouping;
(ii) distinguished from any other plant grouping by ex- The Centra] Government shall establish an Authority
pression of at least one of the said characteristics, and be known as the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farme
(iii) considered as a unit with regard to its suitability for Rjghts Authority. It shall consist of a chairperson an
being propagated, which remains unchanged after such fifteen members as representatives of different concern
propagation and includes propagating material of such vari- ministries and departments, seed industry, farmers orga
ety, extant variety, transgenic variety, farmers' variety nizationSi tribal communities and State-level women's
and essentially derived variety. organization, etc.

Extant variety Eligibility

A variety available in India which is por a varfety to be
(i) notified under section 5 of Seeds Act, 1966, or form to the crit
(ii) farmers' variety, or and stability (NDUS), as described below [Section 15
(iii) a variety about which there is common knowledge, or (1)-(3)1
(iv) any other variety which is in public domain. P°r tbe purposes of the Act, a new variety shall be
deemed to be:

Essentially derived variety (a) Novel, if, at the date of filing of the application for
registration for protection, the propagating or harvested
A variety shall be said to be essentially derived when it: material of such a variety has not been sold or otherwise
disposed of by or with the consent of its breeder or his
(i) is predominantly derived from such initial variety, or successor for the purposes of exploitation of such variety
from a variety that itself is predominantly derived from (i) in India, earlier than one year,
such initial variety, while retaining the expression of the (ii) or outside India, in the case of trees or vines earlier
essential characteristics that result from the genotype or than six years, or, in any other case, earlier than four years,
combination of genotypes of such initial variety; before the date of filing such applications.
(ii) is clearly distinguishable from such initial variety, and Provided that a trial of a new variety which has not
(iii) conforms (excepting for the differences which result been sold or otherwise disposed off shall not affect the right
from the act of derivation) to such initial variety in the to protection.
expression of the essential characteristics that result from Provided further that the fact that on the date of filing the
the genotype or combination of genotypes of such initial application for registration, the propagating or harvested
variety. material of such variety has become a matter of common
CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 86, NO. 3, 10 FEBRUARY 2004 393

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GENERAL ARTICLES

knowledge other than through the aforesaid manner shall by the rules made on this behalf subject to the co
not affect the criteria of novelty for such variety. that the total period of validity shall not excee
(b) Distinct, if it is clearly distinguishable by at least one ..... r , . . , „
... _ . . ,, . . , . (1) in the case of trees and vines, eighteen years from the
essential charactenstic from any other variety whose exis- ......
.. , , , . date of registration of the variety;
tence is a matter of common knowledge in any country at *.... . ^ ,
, . ff... f , .. . (11) in the case of extant varieties, fifteen years from the
the time of filing of the application.
date of the notification of that variety by the Cent
(c) Uniform, if subject to the variation that may be ex
Government under Section 5 of the Seed Act, 1996, and
pected from the particular features of its propagation, it is
(iii) in the other case, fifteen years from the date of reg
sufficiently uniform in its essential characteristics.
tration of the variety.
(d) Stable, if its essential characteristics remain un
changed after repeated propagation or, in the case of a
particular cycle of propagation, at the end of each such Payment of annual fee
cycle.
The Authority may, with the prior approval of the Central
The variety will be subjected to such distinctiveness, Government; by notification in the Official Gazette, impose
uniformity and stability tests as shall be prescribed. a fee tQ bß pajd annually> by every breeder of a varietyi
agent and licensee thereof registered under this Act de
. termined on the basis of benefit or royalty gained by such
pp ication form breeder, agent or licensee, as the case
of the variety, for the retention of their registrat
Every application for registration will have to be accom- this Act [Section 35(1)].
panied with the following information [Section 18 (a-h)]:

(a) denomination assigned to such variety by the applicant; Breeders' rights

(b) an affidavit sworn by the applicant that such variety
does not contain any gene or gene sequence involving ^he certificate of registratio
terminator technology; tbjs ^ct sbajj confer an exclusive righ
(c) the application should be in such form as may be bjs SUCCessor or his agent or
specified by regulations; market! distribute, import or expor
(d) a complete passport data of the parental lines from tjon 28 (1)]
which the variety has been derived along with the geo
graphical location in India from where the genetic mate
rial has been taken and all such information relating to the Researchers' right
contribution, if any, of any farmer, village community,
institution or organization in breeding, evolving or deve- The researchers have been
loping the variety; varieties for bona fide research purposes [Section 30].
(e) a statement containing a brief description of the variety, This Section states, 'Nothing contained in this Act sh
bringing out its characteristics of novelty, distinctiveness, prevent (a) the use of any variety registered under th
uniformity and stability as required for registration; by any person using such variety for conducting
(f) such fees as may be prescribed; ments or research; and (b) the use of a variety by
(g) contain a declaration that the genetic material or paren- person as an initial source of a variety for the purpos
tal material acquired for breeding, evolving or developing creating other varieties provided that the authorization
the variety has been lawfully acquired; and the breeder of a registered variety is required wher
(h) such other particulars as may be prescribed. repeated use of such variety as a parental line is
sary for commercial production of such other newly deve
The conditions stated above (a-h), shall not apply in res- loped variety',
pect of application for registration of farmers' varieties.

Farmers' rights
Period of protection
The farmers' rights of the Act define the privilege of
farmers and their right to protect varieties developed or
The certificate of registration issued under section 24 or conserved by them [Chapter VI], Farmers can sav
sub-section 98 of section 23 shall be valid for nine years sow, resow, exchange, share and sell farm produc
in the case of trees and vines and six years in the case of protected variety except sale under a commercial m
other crops, and may be reviewed and renewed for the re- ing arrangement (branded seeds) [Section 39 (1), (
maining period on payment of such fees as may be fixed Further, the farmers have also been provided pro
394 CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 86, NO. 3, 10 FEBRUARY 2004

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 GENERAL ARTICLES

of innocent infringement when, at the time of infringe- benefit claim, after providing an opportunity to
ment, a farmer is not aware of the existence of breeder both the plant breeder and the claimer.
rights [Section 42 (1)].
A farmer who is engaged in the conservation of genetic National Gene Fund
resources of landraces and wild relatives of economic

plants and their improvement through selection and pre- The National Gene Fund t0 be constituted under the Ac
servation, shall be entitled in the prescribed manner for „h;.n h. r„HifpH thpTY>(r..
recognition and reward from the Gene Fund, provided the
material so selected and preserved has been used as do- (a) The benefit sharing from the breeder.
nor of genes in varieties registrable under the Act. (b) The annual fee payable to the authority by way
The expected performance of a variety is to be dis- royalties,
closed to the farmers at the time of sale of seed/propagating (c) By the compensation provided to the communities as
material. A farmer or a group of farmers or an organiza- defined under Section 41(1).
tion of farmers can claim compensation according to the (d) Contribution from any national and international or
Act, if a variety or the propagating material fails to give nization and other sources.
the expected performance under given conditions, as clai- The fund wil, be applied for disbursing shares t0 benef
med by the breeder of the variety. claimers, either individuals or organization, and for com
pensation to village communities. The fund will also be
Communities rights used f°r supporting conservation and sustainable use of
genetic resources, including in situ and ex situ collection
The rights of the communities as defined, provide for com- and f°r strengthening the capabilities of the panchayat
pensation for the contribution of communities in the evo- *n carrying out such conservation and sustainable use
lution of new varieties in quantums to be determined by [Section (45)].
the PPVFR Authority [Section 41 (1)].
Plant Variety Protection Appellate Tribunal
Registration of essentially derived varieties
The Tribunal will be established by a gazette notification
The breeder of the essentially derived variety shall have by the Government to exercise jurisdiction, powers and
the same rights as the plant breeder of other new varie- authority conferred on it under this Act. The Tribunal will
ties, which include production, selling, marketing and consist of Judicial as well as Technical members,
distribution, including export and import of the variety.
The other eligibility criteria for award of registration are Consideration for effective implementation
also the same as for new variety registration under the nftho Art
Act [Section 23(1), (6)].
India has opted for a sui generis system of protection of
Compulsory license plant varieties and has provided for farmers' rights, bree
ders' rights, researchers' rights and equity concerns in the
The authority can grant compulsory license, in case of same legislation. All these provisions in one legislation
any complaints about the availability of the seeds of any make it a unique Act, when compared to similar legisla
registered variety to public at a reasonable price. The license tions in other countries. Although a few countries have pro
can be granted to any person interested to take up such vided for farmers rights, all types of rights for farmers,
activities after the expiry of a period of three years from v'z- as breeder, conserver, seed producer and consumer
the date of issue of certificate of registration to undertake have not been considered elsewhere in the world. It is this
production, distribution and sale of the seed or other pro- uniqueness of the Act which poses many challenges for
pagating material of the variety [Section 47(1)]. bs effective implementation. The balance between bree
ders' rights and farmers' right could be tough to strike. A
. critical analysis of the provisions in the Act is therefore
Benefit s aring essential for its effective implementatio
Sharing of benefits accruing to a breeder from a variety
developed from indigenously derived plant genetic re- Notification of crops species
sources has also been provided [Section 26(1)]. The autho
rity may invite claims of benefit sharing of any variety As a first step towards implementa
registered under the Act, and shall determine the quantum Government shall have to notify the c
of such award after ascertaining the extent and nature of the blish the system of listing of plant

CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 86, NO. 3, 10 FEBRUARY 2004 395

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GENERAL ARTICLES

pose of registration. The criteria for selecting the crops (f) Collecting statistics with regard to p
could be the crops on which we are dependent for food including the contribution of any person a
and nutritional security, including major cereals, pulses, the evolution or development of any plant variet
oilseeds, vegetables and fruits crops. Crop species impor- or in any other country, for compilation and pu
tant for India in the world trade, species of Indian origin, (g) Ensuring the maintenance of the Reg
crops where India could benefit from introduction of new varieties,
germplasm and foreign investment, could be the other
priorities for consideration Tbe Auttlority has the responsibility to provide
activities mentioned through appropriate institutional struc
tures. There could be three options for the Authority to
Awareness generation undertake all the activities:

There is a need to create awareness among scientists, policy (a) The Authority can aPPo
makers and breeders as well as farmers, village commu- tlon directly under lts contr
cedures for candidate varieties and other institutional
nities and the private seed sector. Wide circulation of the
mechanisms.
provisions of the Act may be done in all research organi
zations directly or indirectly involved in development of (b) The Authority can take advanta§e of the cxlslinS faci"
new crop varieties. For farmers and village communities, llties and infrastructure available at ICAR crop-based insti
, . t „ .. „ „ . • tutions, State Agricultural Universities, Krishi Vigyan Ken
awareness generation and information empowerment is a b bJ
„ , ,, , , . .. dras and All India coordinated proiects.
must through vernacular press, radio, television and the y J
T„tar„at a (c) The ICAR as an organization can establish a suitable
Internet. A standing committee on awareness generation v ' b
and information empowerment under the Plant Varieties sYstern independently.
and Farmers' Rights Protection Authority may be set-up for Any one of lhc proposed institutional mech
ensuring the effective spread of credible information eyer a single objective of effective imple
concerning the rights of plant breeders and farmers as assessment of candidate varieties should
cultivators, breeders and conservers . In order to ensure vjde a jevej piayjng "Field to all categories o
that the farmer as a breeder and conserver secures the as institutions, breeders, farmers and the p
recognition and reward provided under the Act, there is jbe effective implementation of the Act
need to establish resource centres for farmers' rights and DUS testjng and the Authority should ensure
entitlements. parency, accountability and efficiency for carrying out
such tests. Suitable farm and other infrastructure facilities

Institutional structures for effective implementation for DUS testin§' ,ncludinS seed storaSe facilities need t0
be created. It is advisable to carry out DUS testing in at
least two locations in each major-agro climatic region rele
The PPVFR Authority proposed to be established under
vant to the crop for at least two successful years4. Such
the Act has a crucial role to play for effective implemen
an evaluation procedure would create acceptance when
tation of the Act. The duty of the Authority is to promote,
, . , , followed for all types of varieties among all the stake
by such measures as it may think fit, the encouragement boiders
for the development of new varieties of plants and to pro
It is imperative to define essential and addition
tect the rights of the farmers and breeders [Section 8 (1)]
racters for DUS testing (morphological, biochem
In particular, the authority is to provide measures for:
molecular characters), and identification of possible
(a) The registration of extant and new plant varieties sub- rence varieties for each crop
ject to such terms and conditions and in the manner as may UPOV guidelines on DUS te
be prescribed. crops as possible templates for formulation of DUS guide
(b) Developing characterization and documentation of lines that may suit specific requirem
varieties registered under this Act. our legislation may also be considered. In order to test
(c) Documentation, indexing and cataloguing of farmers' the novelty, a database of the existing varieties may have
varieties. to be developed with effective linkages with other such
(d) Compulsory cataloguing facilities for all varieties of database available inte
plants. The Authority may also have to decide about the mini
Ce) Ensuring that seeds of the varieties registered under mum passport d
this Act are available to the farmers and providing for com- application.
pulsory licensing of such varieties, if the breeder of such development of
varieties or any other person entitled to produce such vari- gene banks/br
ety under this Act does not arrange for production and sale ded passport
of seed in the manner as may be prescribed. source of parental ma
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 GENERAL ARTICLES

Further, information regarding parental lines as requi- possess common knowledge, the uniformity crit
red under section 18(e), needs to be restricted to imme- of registration of these varieties is difficul
diate parents. The term parental line is ambiguous here Such consideration may have to be included
since all the varieties developed by traditional methods guidelines for testing of these particular ty
may be having many parental lines. It could be appropri- ties. Further, there could be innumerable
ate to include information on immediate parents, specifi- ties (landraces for registration and their data ar
cally in case of hybrids only. and sometimes overlapping). A technical questionnaire to
It would be difficult to ascertain uniformity criteria for bring out unique characters and area of adaptability could
composites, synthetics, multilines and multiparent hybrids. be developed initially to document these varieties. Th
Such consideration may have to be included in the DUS time-frame to be provided for documentation of informa
guidelines for testing of these particular types of varieties. tion relevant for registration of extant varieties (farmers'
In addition to DUS test centres and database develop- varieties or released varieties) under Section 15(2) may be
ment, attention should be paid to the role of the National restricted to three years.
Gene Bank at the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Re- A farmer/farmer's organization [Section 39(2)] can claim
sources as a National repository, and to the establishment compensation if a variety fails to give the expected per
of recognized DNA fingerprinting centres for conflict formance under given conditions. Such a claim may have
resolution. to be paid by the breeder as directed by the Authority
after giving due hearing to both the parties, n
Storage of reference samples farmer and the breeder. Since t
for DUS by the Authority at the time of regist

The storage of 'reference samples' is an important com- if the Performance of

ponent of this Act. It requires enough and appropriate claimed the breeder'th
storage infrastructure. The Authority would, therefore, of failure of Perform
have to create appropriate infrastructure for providing claims independently, i
storage facilities at selected locations in the country. Since Section 42 regarding prot
the storage of vegetatively propagated materials requires infringement is also not cl
specialized techniques and competence, scientific per- infringement. Such a clau
sonnel need to be trained accordingly and specific centres law in view of the o
would have to be identified and equipped for this pur- reason t0 have Protectio
pose. The facilities and technical expertise available with
the National Gene Bank at National Bureau of Plant Gene
Lawfully acquired parental material
tic Resources, New Delhi and its regional stations could
also be utilized.
Section 18(j) regarding information to be submitted along
with an application, requires the applicant to certify that
The fee structure the genetic or parental material used for breeding the vari
ety has been lawfully acquired. Such declaration would
The fee for registration and other processes as well as be difficult in cases where the passport information relat
annual fee should be reasonably determined keeping in jng to the material has not been recorded,
view the possible commercial value of the crop, the natio- Further, it would not always be possible for a breeder
nal interests, and the desirability of generating enough re- t0 get information relating to the contribution of a farmer,
sources for financial autonomy of the Authority. Section village community, etc. since there may not be an authen
19 of the Act requires a breeder to submit a quantity of jjc source of such information. Such information, if not
seeds along with 'parental lines' according to the standards available, may be left to the Authority to decide, which
specified by the regulations. Also, the seeds deposited are can jnvite claims later through media/public notices, etc.
to be conserved and regenerated if necessary for DUS
testing for maintenance. A separate fee may be assigned
for conservation and regeneration, besides a testing fee. Integrated implementation

Farmers' rights There is a need for the effective and integrated implemen
tation of various new acts/bills concerning biodiversity,
A farmers who has bred or developed a new variety shall environment and seed, which have some interphases be
be entitled for registration and any other protection as a cause of the common commodity that is the 'seed'. These
breeder. Since the definition of an extant variety accord- are in the area of benefit-sharing mechanisms for conser
ing to section 2(j) includes a farmers' variety also, which vers of agro-biodiversity and the establishment of a fund
may be landrace or a wild relative about which farmers for claims of benefit sharing.

CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 86, NO. 3, 10 FEBRUARY 2004 397

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GENERAL ARTICLES

The Biological Diversity Act (2002), dealing hancement

with con of agro-biodiversity. Transparent and credible
methodsof
servation and access to biodiversity and the Protection of recognizing individual and community con
Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, along with the
tributions will have to be developed. The manner in which
Seed Act (the Seed Act is under revision) may becommunity
the simul award should be utilized may be left to the
taneously and effectively integrated for smooth imple In this respect, there could be linkages bet
communities.
weenbeen
mentation5. Although some overlapping issues have the provisions of this Act and the Biodiversity Man
agement
sorted out to bring harmony between the Seed Committees proposed to be established at the
Act and
the PPVFR Act, in the New Seed Policy 2002Panchayat/Local
(ref. 6), Body level under the Biodiversity Act
implementation of the PPVFR Act and Biological
passedDiver
recently3. The administration costs relating to this
sity Act may be harmonized further. Fund may however be borne by the Government of India.
The Indian PVPFR Act thus appears to be an effective
sui generis system providing a balance between plant bree
Capacity building
ders' rights along with farmers' rights and researchers'
rights. The impact of the Indian sui generis system will
Periodic training programmes should be organized for
be felt only after its effective implementation, and later in
scientists and technical personnel involved in the DUS
the areas of research and development, and ultimately in
system of testing and in local languages for tribal com
the national food and nutritional security.
munities and farmers on various aspects of the Act. Also,
research institutions should undertake participatory breed
ing programmes with farm families, including spread of
Ravi Shanker, A. S., Kochhar, Archak, S. and Gautam, P. L., Plant
knowledge regarding conservation of traditional local
Variety Protection: Lessons from cross-country perspective. Policy
Brief No. 11. National Centre for Agricultural Economics and
varieties and registration thereof. Rural knowledge cen
Policy Research (ICAR), New Delhi, 2000.
tres can be organized with regard to the differentThe
legisla
Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Bill, 2001.
tions relating to seeds, biodiversity conservation, and plant
Seed Association of India, Newsl., 2001, vol. 15, pp. 1-35.
breeding. In addition, agricultural universities can Proceedings
include of MSSRF-FAO Expert Consultation: Implementing
farmer's rights for conservation and utilisation of plant genetic re
information on relevant legislations in their curriculum
sources in the Asia-Pacific region: from legislation to action. M.S.
for undergraduate courses.
Swaminanthan Research Foundation, Chennai, 2002, pp. 176.
Framing rules for operationalizing The Protection of Plant Varie
National Gene Fund ties Farmers' Rights Act: Recommendations of a scientists group.
National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, New Delhi. 2002, p. 10.
Saxena, S. and Dhillon, B. S., A critical appraisal of the Protection
The National Gene Fund is proposed to be utilized for
of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act 2001, India. NATP
supporting conservation and sustainable use of genetic re
Trainers Training Jan 2002, Compilation of Experts lecture notes,
NBPGR, New Delhi, 2002, p. 9 (in press).
sources, including in situ and ex situ collections. Some
National Seed Policy 2002, Department of Agriculture and Co
allocation may be earmarked for ex situ conservation of
operation, Ministry of Agriculture, Govt, of India, 2002.
varieties and maintenance of gene banks. The funds are
also to be used for recognizing and rewarding the contri
butions of farmers engaged in the conservation and en 7 July 2003; accepted 14 November 2003
Received

398 CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 86, NO. 3, 10 FEBRUARY 2004

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