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NEW DELHI: Raising objections over a proposed move to tweak provisions of benefit sharing on use of genetic resources at a multilateral forum, a group of Indian scientists on Monday called for strategic intervention by the govt at the upcoming negotiations in Lima so that the country’s sovereign rights over its genetic resources can be protected.The issue is scheduled to be discussed at the 11th Session of the governing body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) in Lima, Peru, from Nov 24 to 29.The group, in its letter to Union agriculture minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, highlighted that the current proposals to “enhance” the Treaty’s multilateral system are fundamentally unjust and pose an immediate, existential threat to India’s sovereign rights over its vast genetic wealth and the fundamental rights of its farmers, who have served as the custodians of this diversity for centuries.They said the proposed move would effectively open up a substantial portion, if not everything, of India’s national seed collections to global access without securing a fair and mandatory compensation mechanism.Genetic resources are shared under law for research and advancements in medicine and agriculture. It is largely believed that full access to such resources — beyond the existing list of 64 crops — instead of a negotiated access could significantly compromise a nation’s sovereign rights over its own genetic resources and override domestic legislation like the Biodiversity Act. “India’s vast genetic diversity — the foundation of our future food security — must not be given away uncompensated,” said Dinesh Abrol, professor at the Institute for Studies in Industrial Development and one of the signatories of the letter to Chouhan.Currently, approximately seven million accessions of genetic resources, originating largely from biodiversity-rich nations like India, have been transferred under the multilateral system. The scientists highlighted that these resources have driven billions of dollars in commercial value for global seed and biotech industries.They noted that the current system of voluntary sharing of monetary benefits has proven to be a complete failure, resulting in minimal financial returns for the countries of origin.“The voluntary system is a sham. It allows rich corporations to profit immensely from the genetic labour of our farmers without paying their fair share,” said Sarath Babu Balijepalli, another signatory and President of Plant Protection Association of India. He said, “We must now secure a ‘mandatory subscription system’ directly linked to the commercial turnover of companies utilising these genetic resources.”The scientists including Suman Sahai, chairperson of the Research and Advocacy Organisation Gene Campaign; and Soma Marla and B Sarath Babu, both former principal scientists at ICAR-NBPGR in their joint appeal to the minister said that the time for passive negotiation is over and India must now lead the Global South in asserting its sovereign control and protecting the rights of the developing countries’ farming communities.
