Experts write to agriculture minister against global meet’s attempt to access all plant genetic resources | India News
NEW DELHI: Flagging concerns over the future of India’s genetic resources, a group of farm scientists and experts has written to Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan seeking govt’s intervention to stall the attempt being made during an ongoing global meet in Lima, Peru, to access all plant genetic resources, beyond the existing lists of plants that countries have agreed on for global access.Genetic resources are shared under a country’s laws, for research and advancements in medicine and agriculture.Referring to a key item on the agenda for the meeting of member countries, which seeks to expand the scope of International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) to include all plant genetic resources, the scientists, in their letter, said full access, instead of a negotiated access, could significantly compromise a nation’s sovereign rights over its genetic resources and override domestic legislation like India’s Biodiversity Act.They said the proposed move could also impact farmers’ rights to save, use, exchange, and sell their farm-saved seeds.Underlining that India, a leading member of the treaty, is rich in plant genetic resources, which constitute the foundation of its agriculture and food production, the group said, “It must not allow any challenges to its sovereign rights over this vital resource”.The group of scientists/experts who wrote to Chouhan include two former principal scientists of Indian Council of Agricultural Research’s National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) — B Sarath Babu and Soma Marla — and NGO Gene Campaign’s chairperson Suman Sahai.Calling for urgent intervention, they wrote: “We urge India to take the lead in negotiations to strike a fair and equitable balance for all stakeholders, particularly between the providers and users of plant genetic resources. This would ensure global food security and a secure future where the rights of those who conserve biodiversity are justly upheld”.Pointing out the broad trend of developing countries, including India, being the providers of genetic resources and developed ones using them, the group also flagged concerns over the draft proposal on revising the existing terms of “access and benefit sharing”.They said, “The newly proposed payment rates and mechanisms are not such that will generate funds commensurate with the value of the genetic diversity taken. As it stands, after millions of seed transfers, very few monetary contributions have materialised”.
