NEW DELHI: India's agricultural sector is blooming with modern day innovation and technology at an accelerated pace and the country is striving to achieve the 'Viksit' tag by 2047.
Speaking at a national conference titled ‘Innovate, Protect, Prosper: Role of Intellectual Property Protection in taking India's Seed Sector to the Next Level,’ organised by the Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII), several experts dwelt upon other subsidiary aspects of related subjects, which now merit attention across the world.
They also pointed out challenges including strengthening mechanisms for IP protection and enforcement, particularly in seed and biotech sectors, facilitating technology transfer and licensing agreements, navigating complex regulatory frameworks, and building capacity and awareness among stakeholders.
Dr Raj S Paroda, founder chairman of Trust for Advancement of Agriculture Sciences (TAAS) in his address said, “Enabling environment for IPR protection is critical for accelerating innovations and technologies needed for faster growth of agriculture. When innovators are confident of protection of their rights, they get incentivized to do better and come forward to invest and innovate."
He further said, "Fortunately, through PPVFRA, in India have a unique IPR framework which not only protects the rights of plant breeders but also of our farmers."
"Strong IP protection is vital for stimulating innovation and investment Collaborative research endeavours, partnerships between the public and private sectors, and open innovation frameworks have demonstrated their effectiveness in expediting innovation and tackling intricate challenges," experts attending it commonly opined.
Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, chairperson of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPVFRA), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare said, “India takes a progressive approach towards PVP learning from global best practices in IPR for the seed and agricultural biotechnology while taking cognizance of the rights of the farmers as custodians of biotechnology, and emphasising the importance of IP learning for the Indian seed industry".
Speaking on the need for a balanced IPR environment for the seed industry, Ajai Rana, Chairman, of FSII and Managing Director & CEO, of Savannah Seeds said, “There is a need for a multi-faceted and collaborative approach towards building an effective policy and regulatory framework around IPR, particularly in the seed industry. This involves legal reforms, capacity building, stakeholder engagement, and international cooperation to promote innovation to find solutions to our most pressing problems.”
Rana also advocated for collaboration between the public and private sectors to enhance research and development efforts, while reiterating the need for better IPR protection and enforcement on the ground.