Nagauri Pan Methi gets PPVFRA patent under community farmers' variety

The patent registration was published in the Plant Variety Journal, February 2026 issue, conferring statutory ownership, legal rights upon the farming community of Nagaur district, Rajasthan

In a step towards reinforcing farmers’ rights, the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPVFRA) formally granted a patent to ‘Nagauri Pan Methi’ (Nagori fenugreek) (Trigonella corniculata L.) under the 'community farmers’ variety' category.

 

The patent registration was published in the Plant Variety Journal, February 2026 issue, conferring statutory ownership and legal rights upon the farming community of Nagaur district, Rajasthan. 

So far, in the absence of intellectual property rights, the ‘methi variety’ was being categorised as grass and sold as ‘kasuri methi’ by traders and businessmen. 

“In the next phase, steps will be taken towards securing a GI tag, development of food safety standards by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), creation of an HSN code for exports, and implementation of regulated procurement through the mandi system to strengthen market mechanisms and ensure farmers receive fair and remunerative prices,” Dr Bhagirath Choudhary from the South Asia Biotechnology Centre (SABC), which played a significant role in developing the scientific material that went into securing the intellectual property rights including field research and documentation of the crop’s characteristics, said. 

 

SABC submitted the scientific and field-level evidence along with seed material formally to the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority on 25 June 2024 for registration.

 

Nagauri Methi is cultivated exclusively in the Nagaur district of Rajasthan and is grown on more than 7,000 hectares. The crop is primarily produced in the regions of Mundwa, Nagaur, Merta City, Jayal, Degana and Khinvsar.

 

It is a multi-cut leafy crop, where the leaves are harvested repeatedly and dried in the sun before being sold in the market.

 

In each cutting, farmers obtain around 175 kilograms of dried leaves per acre, generating an income of nearly ₹25,000 every ten days.

 

With an average of ten cuttings per season, farmers earn about ₹2.5 lakh per acre, making ‘Nagauri Methi’ one of the highest income-generating crops in India.

 

During the 2024–25 season, farmers in Nagaur district produced approximately 30,000 metric tonnes of dried Nagauri Pan Methi leaves, generating a total income of around ₹450 crore for the farming community.

 

The IP rights are the world’s first sui generis intellectual property protection for 'Nagauri Paan Methi', recognising the collective innovation, conservation, and custodianship of farmers who have nurtured this unique plant genetic resource for generations in the arid agro-ecology of Nagaur district of Rajasthan.

 

According to a SABC statement, registered under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001, the Community of Farmers of Nagaur, represented by women farmer Geeta Devi, Pradhan, Panchayat Samiti Mundwa, is now legally recognised as the rightful custodian and rights holder of Nagauri Paan Methi.

 

The registration delivers a triple dividend of benefits to farmers.

 

First, it will protect them against bio piracy and unauthorised commercial exploitation, including the sale of spurious and substandard seeds in the absence of a formal seed chain system. Second, it will entitle them to benefit sharing arising from research or commercial utilisation of Nagauri Methi genetic resources. The granting of IP registration is also a first major step towards securing a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for Nagauri Paan Methi, which can enhance market recognition and enable farmers to receive better prices for their produce.

 

“The registration of ‘Nagauri Methi’ by the Plant Variety Authority is a historic recognition of the generations of hard work of Nagaur’s farmers. Under the name ‘Mundwa Pradhan’, the farming community has secured its intellectual property right, effectively its patent,” Choudhary of SABC said.

 

The identification and scientific study of this unique fenugreek variety were carried out under the “Biotech Kisan Hub” supported by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT). The effort also received technical and institutional support from the ICAR-National Research Centre on Seed Spices and the NABARD-supported Agri Export Facilitation Centre (AEFC), helping validate the crop’s uniqueness and economic significance.