UPOV 1991 Convention

A new report by GRAIN, an international non-profit organization focused on food sovereignty and peasant rights, has warned that Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are increasingly being used by developed countries to enforce stringent intellectual property (IP) rules on seeds and biodiversity.

• The report argues that these provisions threaten farmers’ rights, restrict traditional practices, and expand corporate monopolies in the agricultural sector worldwide.

The Role of UPOV 1991 Convention

• The Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV) Convention, established in Geneva, sets international standards for plant variety protection (PVP).
• The 1991 Act of the UPOV Convention — its most restrictive version — is being pushed through FTAs rather than multilateral forums like the WTO.
• Under this regime:
  • Seed corporations gain exclusive monopoly rights for 20–25 years over plant varieties they develop.
  • Farmers are barred from saving, exchanging, or reusing protected seeds, undermining their traditional agricultural practices and local biodiversity.

Impact on Global South

• GRAIN’s updated global dataset shows that countries in the Global South are being pressured through bilateral and regional FTAs to align their national seed laws with UPOV 1991 standards.
• These pressures come outside WTO frameworks, allowing powerful economies to bypass global consensus mechanisms.

India’s Stand and Legal Framework

• India is not a member of the UPOV Convention.
• Instead, it has enacted its own law — the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPV&FR) Act, 2001 — to:
  • Ensure compliance with international obligations; and
  • Safeguard farmers’ rights to save, use, exchange, and sell farm-saved seeds.
• The PPV&FR Act balances breeders’ rights and farmers’ rights, reflecting India’s commitment to agricultural sovereignty and biodiversity protection.

Broader Implications

• The report highlights a growing tension between trade liberalization and farmers’ rights.
• It warns that corporate-led IP regimes could:
  • Undermine food security and seed diversity,
  • Erode traditional knowledge systems, and
  • Deepen dependence on multinational seed corporations.

(Source: DTE)