Pepsico wants farmers to lay-off its potatoes; NGOs ask govt to intervene

Farmers' groups have also sought immediate withdrawal of all cases against potato farmers initiated by PepsiCo

As the hearing in the ongoing legal battle between multinational food giant PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt Ltd (PIH) and potato farmers in Gujarat nears, a group of farmer organisations are mounting pressure for withdrawing the case.

Alleging violation of farmers' rights under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPV&FR) Act, 2001 by PepsiCo, nearly 200 civil society representatives and farm leaders have written to the Centre for intervention. 

Earlier in the month, PepsiCo had sued four potato farmers from the Sabarkantha district of Gujarat for allegedly growing a variety of potato called FL 2027, also referred to as FC5, on which PepsiCo claims exclusive rights by virtue of a Plant Variety Certificate (PVC) under the PPV&FR Act.

The farmers, who hold around 3-4 acres of land, have been slapped with a lawsuit of Rs 1 crore each for an 'estimated damage' to PepsiCo arising from the alleged infringement of its intellectual property right (IPR) for the potato variety that it uses for 'Lay's Chips'. The cases were filed in the Commercial Court at the City Civil Court in Ahmedabad and the next hearing is scheduled on April 26.

A letter to Dr K V Prabhu, Chairperson, Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India, says the Act provides immunity to farmers and allows them to sow or sell seeds -- including those registered under a PVC. 

Signatories of the letter include the RSS-affiliated Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), Gujarat Khedut Samaj, and Jatan Trust, along with civil society representatives and farmer advocacy platforms like Alliance for Sustainable & Holistic Agriculture (ASHA). The letter has termed PepsiCo's move as a direct violation of farmers' rights protected under the PPV&FR Act. The signatories have have demanded immediate intervention of the Centre and state governments to protect farmers’ rights under the Act.

According to Ambubhai Patel, National Vice President, Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), PepsiCo's claims are untenable and attempts are being made to intimidate farmers. The farmer groups have also sought immediate withdrawal of all cases against potato farmers initiated by PepsiCo.

The letter has alleged that PepsiCo used private detective agencies to entrap farmers by creating secret videos to implicate them.

However, PepsiCo alleged that the farmers were illegally producing and selling the variety without permission -- in violation of Sections 64 and 65 of the Act.

Before setting the date for next hearing as April 26, the commercial court in Ahmedabad had considered documents submitted by PepsiCo, including the PVC, and had the farmers to abstain from growing and selling the variety. The court had also sought replies from them on the allegations leveled by the company while observing: "At this stage, it appears the the plaintiff (PepsiCo), prima facie, has a case in its favour". 

The court also admitted PepsiCo's claim that if farmers are not temporarily stayed from growing and selling these potatoes, the company would suffer "irreparable loss and it would defeat justice."

A court commissioner has also been appointed on the company's request to conduct an inquiry into the dispute, prepare an inventory of potatoes, take samples and send it to government laboratories and the Potato Research Centre at Shimla for analysis.