The farmers who have been sued by PepsiCo for violation of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) for growing a certain variety of potato said that while they have heard of the company’s plan to withdraw the petition, they haven’t got anything that confirms the move.
The farmers and farmers’ rights organisations said the company’s announcement is nothing new as earlier too, they had talked of conditional withdrawal. “The withdrawal should be unconditional and they should compensate the farmers for harassment.
They should also assure us that in future, no farmers will be sued,” said Shah. He said that the matter was not just about four farmers of Gujarat but the rights of farmers across the country. “What is new about the company saying it will withdraw the cases? It had earlier too promised to do it on the condition that the farmers desist from growing the variety of potatoes or grow it only when it is bought from the company and the final produce is sold to them,” said Shah.
He added that there is also a need for transparency in the way the government was dealing with the company. “Whatever agreement is reached upon should also involve the farmers.
We don’t want any secret deals between the company and government,” said Shah. A meeting to decide the further course of action was also held in the city today by various organisations that work for the interest of farmers.
Badribhai Joshi of Gujarat Khedut Samaj said the case also highlights the need to educate farmers about their rights. “It is not enough that there are laws protecting farmers.
The Centre and state should also make efforts to create awareness about it,” said Joshi.
Earlier Nine farmers from Sabarkantha and Aravalli districts were sued by PepsiCo in two separate courts for allegedly growing a variety of potato for which the company has claimed plant variety protection (PVP) rights, and sought damages ranging from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 1 crore from each of them.
They were sued by the company under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001.
In the backdrop of the ongoing tussle between PepsiCo India and potato farmers, a team from the company met chief secretary JN Singh and other officials.
They assured the farmers that it would withdraw cases against them. During the brief meeting, the government is believed to have told PepsiCo that legal action against farmers was a harsh step, and should have been avoided.
The company was also told that the controversy could have been avoided if the matter was brought to its attention before it went directly to court.
