12
Jul
Schedule for “People’s Conference on Farmers’ Seed Rights”, July 13th 2019, Delhi
PEOPLE’S CONFERENCE ON FARMERS’ SEED RIGHTS
Saturday, July 13th 2019
India International Centre, Conference Room II, Max Mueller Marg, New Delhi
Programme Schedule
Timing | Topic | Speaker/Facilitator |
10.00am to 10.30am | Registration | |
10.30am to 10.40am | Welcome/Background/Introduction to the Conference | Ms Kavitha Kuruganti, Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA) |
10.40am to 10.55am | Quick round of introductions | All participants |
STORY OF THE LEGAL SUITS AGAINST GUJARAT POTATO FARMERS Moderator: Shri Umendra Dutt, Kheti Virasat Mission |
||
10.55am to 11.10am
(15 mts) |
Attack on Farmers’ Seed Rights – narrating the PepsiCo India episode | Shri Bipinbhai Patel, sued potato farmer
|
11.10am to 11.30am
(20 mts) |
Lessons learnt – Questions left unanswered – Lacunae in the law/implementation | Shri Kapil Shah, Beej Adhikaar Manch, Gujarat |
INTENT & IMPLEMENTATION OF THE LAW Moderator: Shri Ashwani Mahajan, Co-Convenor, Swadeshi Jagran Manch |
||
11.30am to 11.50am
(20 mts) |
Farmers’ Seed Rights in India – Upholding the law (Protection of Plant Varieties & Farmers’ Rights Act & Treaty Obligations) | Ms Shalini Bhutani, Policy & Legal Analyst |
11.50am to 12 noon | Q&A | |
12 noon to 12.20pm
(20 mts) |
Implementation of Farmers’ Rights – Roles, Responsibilities & Experiences | Dr R C Agrawal, Registrar General, PPV&FR Authority, Government of India |
PANEL DISCUSSION Moderator: Dr Rajendra Khimani, Gujarat Association of Agricultural Scientists |
||
12.20pm to 01.05pm (15 mts each) | Indian Plant Varieties law in comparison to other countries | Shri Afsar Jafri, GRAIN |
WTO TRIPS & other international demands on IPR in seeds | Prof Biswajit Dhar, Jawaharlal Nehru University | |
Why UPOV Convention is a bad idea for India | Dr Suman Sahai, Gene Campaign | |
01.05pm to 01.30pm
(25 mts) |
Q&A and Discussion
|
On the dais: Dr RC Agrawal, Dr Suman Sahai, Prof Biswajit Dhar, Shri Afsar Jafri |
01.30pm to 02.30pm: LUNCH BREAK |
||
ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION: What needs to be done to uphold farmers’ rights fully |
||
02.30pm to 04.00pm
(3-4 mts per speaker) |
|
Facilitated by Ms Soma Parthasarathy (MAKAAM), Shri Krishna Prasad (Sahaja Samrudha) & Shri Ananthoo (Safe Food Alliance) |
CONCLUDING SESSION |
||
4.00pm to 4.20pm | Summary of day’s discussions and Plan of Action to be shared with GoI representative | Ms Kavitha Kuruganti |
4.20pm to 4.30pm | Farmers’ Demands to Government | Shri Yudhvir Singh & Shri Badrinarayan Chaudhary (5 mts each) |
4.30pm to 4.55pm | Remarks and Response from Shri Ashwani Kumar*, Joint Secretary Seeds, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare | |
4.55pm to 5.00pm | Vote of Thanks | Shri Ajay Etikala |
5.00pm | HIGH TEA |
*** Close ***