M Prabhakar Rao appointed as member of Plant & Farmer Protection body

NEW DELHI: The government has recast the official body overseeing the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Right Act, appointing as its member M Prabhakar Rao, chairman of Nuziveedu Seeds, which is in a high-profile conflict with Monsanto over licensing and royalty of seed technology.

Rao has entered the slot for the representative of a seed company, replacing a representative of Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company Ltd (Mahyco), which is associated with Monsanto, giving a new twist to the conflict. The government has also included the principal secretaries of agriculture from Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh in the committee, officials said.

Rao has been appointed as a member of the body for three years in place of Usha Barwale Zehr, chief technology officer of Mahyco. Monsanto sells cotton seeds in India via Mahyco Monsanto Biotech Ltd (MMBL), a joint venture. MMBL has sub-licensed Bt cotton seed technology since 2002 to various domestic seed companies.

In February this year , MMBL terminated the license agreements of Nuziveedu and its group companies on account of what it said continued refusal to pay contractually agreed trait fees amounting to more than Rs 165 crores despite having collected the full retail price from farmers. An agriculture ministry official said the 10-member committee has official and non-official members.

"Rao represents the National Seed Association of India,” he said. He said the Protection of Plant Variety and Farmers Right Act was enacted to provide for the establishment of an effective system for protection of plant varieties, the rights of farmers and plant breeders, and to encourage the development and cultivation of new varieties of plants.