Dr. Mohapatra is currently working as the Chairperson, Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPVFRA), Ministry of Agriculture, Govt. of India, New Delhi. Prior to this, he worked for more than six years (2016-2022) as Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India as well as the Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). He worked for twenty years as a researcher and teacher at the National Institute of Plant Biotechnology (formerly National Research Centre on Plant Biotechnology), New Delhi. In the year 2012, he moved to the National Rice Research Institute (formerly CRRI), Cuttack, Odisha as Director, and then to Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi as the Director and Vice Chancellor in the year 2015.
As DG, ICAR, Dr. Mohapatra successfully implemented new programmes on gene editing, precision/digital agriculture, cloning of productive cows and buffalo bulls, large-scale in situ management of rice straw etc. His focus on biofortification led to development and release of more than 80 biofortified crop varieties, which occupied more than four million hectares area in the country. During his tenure, the production of pulses and sugar touched new heights with additional ten million tons each.
Dr. Mohapatra has over 200 research papers in national and international journals of repute. He initiated and developed Molecular Breeding research and strengthened this area through intensive capacity building. His research contributions include decoding of rice and tomato genomes through international partnership, and development of more than 15 crop varieties through effective collaborations. He has rich experience of serving national and international agricultural research and development organizations and professional societies as president/chair/vice-chair/member and helped development of programmes and policies. He has the distinction of receiving several honours and awards in recognition of his excellent academic and research contributions, which include DBT Bio-science Award, NASI-Reliance Industries Platinum Jubilee Award, NAAS-Tata Award and Shri Om Prakash Bhasin Award. Dr. Mohapatra is an esteemed Fellow of leading science academies of the country. He has been conferred doctoral degree (honoris causa) by twelve different universities.
Plant Variety Protection (PVP) is a cornerstone intellectual property right for fostering innovation in plant breeding. For India, a country with a massive agrarian base, a balanced PVP system is crucial to stimulate investment in the seed sector while protecting the rights of millions of farmers. India’s response to the TRIPS Agreement was not to adopt the UPOV model but to enact its own unique sui generis law—the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPVFR) Act, 2001. This abstract examines how this distinct framework aims to drive investment and the resulting trends and challenges.
The Indian Sui Generis Model:
The PPVFR Act is a landmark legislation that deliberately balances two objectives: incentivizing commercial breeding and recognizing farmers' contributions. It grants breeders exclusive rights to commercially use their new, distinct, uniform, and stable varieties. Concurrently, it legally secures farmers' rights to save, use, exchange, share, and sell unbranded seed of protected varieties. This dual approach creates a system tailored to India's socio-agrarian context, distinguishing it from the purely breeder-centric UPOV framework.
Mechanisms for Stimulating Investment- The Act stimulates investment by creating a predictable and secure environment for R&D:
The system's effectiveness is reflected in its uptake. For instance, in the annual year 2023-24, the PPVFR Authority issued 1,763 certificates of registration. A significant number of these (1,546) were for Farmer Varieties, demonstrating the Act's inclusivity, while New and Extant Varieties also saw substantial registrations, primarily in cereals. This data indicates a vibrant and growing sector where the PVP system is actively being used to secure rights and encourage innovation across the breeding spectrum.
Future efforts should focus on strengthening benefit-sharing mechanisms like the National Gene Fund and ensuring the system evolves to meet new challenges in climate resilience and food security.
India's PPVFR Act presents a compelling alternative model for stimulating investment in the seed sector. By harmonizing the interests of commercial breeders with the rights of farmers, it has created a unique ecosystem for agricultural innovation. The robust registration statistics confirm its active use and positive impact. While navigating its inherent balances is an ongoing process, the Indian experience offers valuable lessons for developing nations seeking to drive agricultural growth through an equitable and effective intellectual property framework.”
