Source: The Hindu, 11/30/06 via USDA/FAS GAIN report IN6107

A Parliamentary Committee has cautioned the government against compromising farmers’ interest on use of seeds and has recommended regulating the powers given to seed inspectors before the passage of the Seeds Bill. The report, tabled in the Parliament, said the Seed Bill should not undermine the farmer/primary conserver friendly provisions of the Plant Varieties Protection and Farmers’ Right Act 2001 as well as the Bio-diversity Act, 2002. The Committee has also called for adding a provision in the Bill to enable compensation to the farmers from the producer, distributor or vendor of seeds. The original Bill only states that the compensation can be claimed under the Consumer Protection Act 1986. The Committee, chaired by Ram Gopal Yadav, was of the “strong view” that the provisional registration of transgenic varieties would bring untested seeds and genetically engineered food crops in the market through the backdoor. This may sabotage the entire bio-safety regulatory system of the country.

Post Comment: The 2004 Seeds Bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha (Upper House of the Parliament) on December 9, 2004, was referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture, headed by Professor Ram Gopal Yadav, Member of the Parliament, for examination.

The Original version of the Seed Bill is available at http://agricoop.nic.in/seeds/seeds_bill.htm