Farmers should be recognised as custodians of crop diversity, says P.K. Mishra

Farmers should be recognised as custodians and innovators of India's crop diversity, and their traditional knowledge linked to science, seed systems and markets, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister P. K. Mishra said on Thursday.

He was speaking at the 22nd Foundation Day of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority (PPVFRA) and its Plant Genome Saviour Award ceremony, which also marked 25 years of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001.

Farmers' rights

Mishra said the Act balances breeders' rights with recognition of farmers as conservers, cultivators and developers of plant varieties. He said nearly half of the varieties registered under PPVFRA are farmers' varieties. He also pointed to the benefit-sharing provisions and the National Gene Fund, which are meant to give communities that conserve genetic resources a fair return.

Numbers he cited

• India has 22 agro-biodiversity hotspots; he gave Koraput in Odisha, recognised by the FAO in 2012 as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System, as an example of community-led conservation.
• The National Genebank at ICAR-NBPGR is the second largest in the world.
• About 3,000 climate-resilient crop varieties have been developed under the National Agricultural Research System.

From recognition to empowerment

Mishra called for stronger community seed banks and field gene banks, and for linking farmers' varieties with quality seed systems, Farmer Producer Organisations and markets. "An award honours a farmer once; a seed chain, a market and a fair share of benefits sustain the farmer every season," he said.

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Source: official release by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, issued through the Press Information Bureau, Government of India (12 NOV 2026 4:42PM by PIB Delhi). Read the full official text: Dr. P.K. Mishra addresses the 22nd Foundation Day of PPVFRA and Plant Genome Saviour Award Ceremony.