Kerala to safeguard IP rights of Navara rice

THRISSUR: The state government has raised objection to the move of a man in Palakkad to get intellectual property (IP) rights over the Navara variety of rice.
Agriculture minister V S Sunilkumar said as per the information received by the government, this person had applied for IP rights under the farmers’ right clause of the Protection of Plant Variety and Farmers Right Act, 2001 (PPV&FR Act).

“He is known to have applied for the IP rights by floating an organization. Both the agriculture department and the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) have written to the related authorities that Navara rice is a traditional variety of Kerala and it is being cultivated in different parts of the state,” said the minister.

The minister pointed out that the rice variety is also commonly used in ayurvedic health care system in Kerala due of its medicinal value. “So, the government has informed the authorities in charge of implementing the PPVFR Act that the ownership rights of the Navara belongs to the farmer community of Kerala and not to a particular individual,” Sunilkumar said.

Earlier there were attempts to get geographical indication tag to Navara saying that this was a rice variety exclusively being cultivated in Palakkad. The government and the KAU had objected to this then, saying it was being produced in different parts of the state, he added. Sunilkumar said some NGOs were also making efforts to wrest the IP rights of germplasms of the crop varieties of Kerala, through dubious means.

The minister said that the state government is setting up a seed bank to conserve the seeds and planting materials of traditional crops as well as newly-developed crop varieties. Sunilkumar said the government has decided that only those, who have undergone a course in pesticide management will be given license to start pesticide retail outlets in state. He said the decision has been taken as part of the measures to regulate the use of pesticides. This will be like pharmacy training being mandatory condition for getting a pharmacy licence, he clarified.

He said each retail outlet will be directed to keep strict data on the sale of each pesticide, including the purchaser, the area and crops where it was being used and under whose advice. The enforcement wings under the agriculture department will strengthened to ensure that these directions are complied with.