No need for licensing pact with GM technology provider: NSAI

NSAI said that seed firms have right to access transgenic varieties to develop hybrids

As government proposes to bring new guidelines to regulate BT cotton market, apex seed industry body NSAI on Wednesday said there should not be any need for licensing agreement with technology providers as seed firms have right to access transgenic varieties to develop hybrids.

The Union Agriculture Ministry last month issued a notification prescribing new guidelines for licensing and royalty/trait value fixation of BT cotton seeds.

Under the fresh norm, royalty for the new genetically modified (GM) traits was capped at 10% of the maximum sale price of BT cotton seeds for the first 5 years. Eligible seed firms get access to the GM technology was also ensured.

But later, the government withdrew the notification and turned it into a draft guidelines to seek comments from stakeholders amid opposition from crop biotech industry.

"There is no need of any licensing agreement for GM traits to be signed by the plant breeders, farmers, researchers either in public or in private sector according to the provisions under the Protection of Plant Varieties & Farmers' Right Act, 2001," National Seed Association of India (NSAI) President M Prabhakar Rao told Press Trust of India.

He said "the breeders have a right to access any transgenic variety for developing new varieties and need not sign any licence agreement for carrying out the basic activities of the seed companies".

Rao termed the overall draft guidelines issued by the government as balanced.

US biotech major Monsanto's India joint venture 'Mahyco Monsanto Biotech Ltd (MMBL)' has sub-licensed Bt cotton seed technology since 2002 to about 50 domestic seed companies, which sold over 5 crore packets of cotton seeds last year.

"The one-sided licensing agreement imposed by Monsanto has created monopoly in Bt cotton seed market," NSAI Executive Director Kalyan Goswami said.

On trait value, Goswami said the association would support the payment of royalty if it is "fair and reasonable" and encourages the development of new GM technology.

NSAI has prepared a draft response and put it on its own website for comments from its 377 members by July 15.

The government's draft policy came two months after it fixed the MSP of Bt cotton seed packets at Rs 800 per packet for bollgard (BG)-II version of Bt cotton hybrid, including Rs 49 for the trait value. The seed price was fixed according to the Cotton Seeds Price Control Order issued in December 2015.

According to the draft 'Licensing and Formats for GM Technology Agreement Guidelines, 2016', after the first 5 years, royalty would reduce by 10% of initial value every year. If the GM technology loses efficacy, technology provider would not be eligible for any royalty.

A new format for bilateral agreements has been proposed while the existing signed pacts between licensors (technology providers) and licensees (seed firms) would become invalid.

The licensing norms seek to ensure that technology provider gets adequately rewarded under the "fair, reasonable and non-discriminative mechanism (FRAND mechanism)".