Farmers alarmed at proposed laws threatening traditional seeds and biodiversity

By A Representative 

Farmer groups and civil society organizations across India have raised strong objections to the government’s proposed amendments to the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPVFR) Act, 2001, and voiced concern over the yet-to-be-released Seed Bill. They allege that the proposed changes threaten farmers’ rights, seed sovereignty, and national control over India’s genetic resources. 

The protests come as India prepares for negotiations at the upcoming Governing Body Meeting of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), scheduled in Peru from November 24 to 29, 2025, where proposals are expected to expand international access to all plant genetic resources and their Digital Sequence Information (DSI).

Critics argue that the amendments align more with the interests of multinational agribusinesses than those of Indian farmers, potentially eroding national sovereignty and agricultural self-reliance. The inclusion of “synthetic seeds” in the new Seed Bill has sparked additional alarm, with farmer groups warning that it could pave the way for genetically modified or engineered crops, threatening both the integrity of traditional seed systems and ecological health.

The Bharat Beej Swaraj Manch (BBSM), a national alliance of farmers and seed savers, has accused the government of prioritizing corporate interests over farmers in recent stakeholder consultations organized by the PPVFR Authority. They contend that the process lacked transparency and excluded farmer voices until the final stages. BBSM has also criticized India’s failure to maintain a registry of “Varieties of Common Knowledge” — traditional seed varieties that should be protected from private ownership — and demanded immediate corrective measures.

Farmer networks have called on the government to halt the proposed PPVFR amendments, disclose the full contents of the Seed Bill, and ensure that any legislative changes strengthen rather than weaken farmers’ rights. They also demand the protection of all plant genetic resources and their DSI from intellectual property claims, and a full audit of the Gene Fund.

Warning against the ongoing corporatization of global agriculture, the groups emphasized that over half of the world’s seed trade is already dominated by four major multinational corporations, and India should not surrender its heritage of biodiversity and seed sovereignty to external control. 

BBSM and allied organizations are mobilizing nationwide campaigns to demand transparency, public consultations, and the upholding of India’s long-standing commitment to farmers’ rights and biodiversity conservation.