Access and Benefit Sharing: Agro Biodiversity and Farmers’ Rights on Seeds—The Case of Indigenous Rice Varieties of Wayanad, Kerala, India

TitleAccess and Benefit Sharing: Agro Biodiversity and Farmers’ Rights on Seeds—The Case of Indigenous Rice Varieties of Wayanad, Kerala, India
Publication TypeBook Chapter
Year of Publication2023
AuthorsPrajeesh P., AnilKumar N.
Book TitleBiodiversity Conservation Through Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS)
Pagination187-209
PublisherSpringer
KeywordsAccess and Benefit Sharing, Agro-Biodiversity, Farmers’ Rights, PPV&FR Act, Wayanad
Abstract

By virtue of its location in the confluence of three major bio-geographic realms, India is rich in biodiversity and considered as a cradle of agro biodiversity. India is a farming country with majority of farming population falling under the categories of small and marginal holders who prefer to use saved seeds. Over the years, these farming communities have been remarkably developing and conserving varieties of crops that suit different habitats and ecological conditions. India is one of the leading countries which had developed its own legal measures to protect plant varieties and farmers’ rights under the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture. All these accolades demand for an inquiry into the Access to the Agro biodiversity heritage of the country and Benefit Sharing-ABS, with regard to the efforts of the farming communities. Studies show that the very idea behind the Indian legislation was to point that, farmers and breeders are allies in the struggle for sustainable food security, and that their rights must be mutually reinforcing and not antagonistic. This chapter examines the extent of realization of the concept of Farmers’ Rights and ABS, along the lines of the historical journey and the grass root reflections from Kerala.

URLhttps://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-16186-5_9
DOI10.1007/978-3-031-16186-5_9
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