PepsiCo sues Gujarat farmers who grew its exclusive 'copyrighted' potatoes

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An Ahmedabad court on April 26 will be hearing a case concerning nine Gujarat-based farmers who were sued by PepsiCo India Holdings Private Limited (PIH) for growing a hybrid potato variant -- FL 2027 aka FC5 -- which the firm claims to have exclusive rights to produce by virtue of a Plant Variety Certificate they acquired.

As the hearing in the legal battle between the MNC and the farmers approaches, a group of peasants has been mounting pressure to get the case withdrawn.

Within days of the multi-billion-dollar group asking the farmers to pay Rs 1.05 crore each for ‘infringing its rights’ by sowing the ‘Lays potato’, the latter started campaigning for government intervention in the case, reported The Hindu.

The farmer groups, in their defence, have been claiming that they are legally allowed to grow and sell any type of crop as long as they are not selling the registered, branded seeds. They have been warning that this case may set a precedent for other similar crops, which could brew trouble for the community in the long run.

Apart from requesting the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPV&FRA) to fund the cost of fighting the legal battle through the National Gene Fund, the farmers are also expecting the authority to make a submission in the court on behalf of them.

A spokesperson from PepsiCo India defended the step taken by the company.

"PepsiCo is India's largest process grade potato buyer and amongst the first companies to work with thousands of local farmers to grow a specific protected variety of potatoes for it. The company's collaborative potato farming program is best in class and is built on strong backward and forward linkages that improve livelihoods by using protected seeds. In this instance, we took judicial recourse against people who were illegally dealing in our registered variety. This was done to protect our rights and safeguard the larger interest of farmers that are engaged with us and who are using and benefitting from seeds of our registered variety.

“We remain committed to resolving the matter and ensuring adoption of best farming practices resulting in higher yield and quality,” the spokesperson said.

PPV&FRA registrar for vegetable crops, TK Nagarathna, said they have taken cognizance of the case and are currently studying it. She said, the authorities can take action once the court order is out.

The letter sent to the PPV&FRA mentioned that the farmers who have been sued come from humble backgrounds and own land holdings measuring barely 3-4 acres on an average. They only started growing the controversial variety of potatoes after acquiring them locally last year.

They alleged that the MNC hired private detectives in the sly, who posed as potential buyers and made videos and collect samples from them, to put them through this trouble.