The term “plant variety protection” has originally been used in agriculture to refer to protecting a particular variety of a plant against a number of different harmful effects, including climatic factors, toxic substances in soil, water or air infestations, pests and diseases, or the deterioration of the plant’s essential characteristics through cross-breeding with other varieties. However, this term does not apply to any of the aforementioned concepts in the field of intellectual property law. It refers to a monopoly privilege granted to a plant breeder that prevents others from producing, selling, exchanging, or utilizing the variety for research or other non-profit purposes. To put it another way, this term refers to granting a new plant variety breeder an exclusive claim over the variety they have created.
The agrarian-based society of Sri Lanka has existed for more than 2,500 years and is the country’s primary economic sector. Currently, the agricultural industry is second only to manufacturing in terms of its contribution to the nation’s gross national product (GNP), at over 20%. The primary crops grown in the nation are rice (780,000 hectares), vegetables (110,000 hectares), other field crops (128,000 hectares), and home gardens (98,000 hectares). Plantations that grow tea, rubber, coconuts, sugarcane, and spices account for about 772,000 hectares of the nation’s agricultural landscape.
Over a thousand years, Sri Lanka’s farming practices, including those for rice, other field crops, and domestic cultivation, have changed. Plants that are utilized for agriculture have undergone major changes from their wild relatives and have been modified to satisfy human needs and desires.
The “Draft” law regarding plant Varieties
The draft’s main objective is to establish regulations for the registration of new plant varieties, but it also aims to promote the development of brand-new plant varieties, protect the rights of farmers, breeders, and researchers, and address issues that are related to or incidental to those efforts. The draft has continually drawn criticism from a range of industry professionals due to the lack of traditional varieties. It mostly only protects the new and distinctive varieties. The traditional and already-existing varieties are not covered by this protection. It is therefore conceivable that following the adoption of this legislative framework, producers would choose to concentrate primarily on such protected varieties that grant them exclusive rights. As a result, in some cases, traditional types may also contribute to innovation. The efficient management and incorporation of traditional varieties can support and encourage farmers to pursue the production of traditional varieties as well.
Sri Lanka has a basic infrastructure for the transformation and diffusion of plant varieties, and once the legislation pertaining to plant varieties is in place, maintaining plant varieties legislation only requires coordination between various sectors. To help farmers, further steps are required, such as the implementation of farmers’ rights. Farmers should be allowed to breed, and there needs to be a system in place to protect traditional or indigenous varieties. With the advent of regulation in Sri Lanka, the farmer’s right to preserve, sell, and exchange plant varieties have come under threat. This benefit is commonly known as “farmers’ privilege.” Given that Sri Lanka lacks the necessary infrastructure to implement the regulation, further delays will cause the Act’s provisions to become outdated, making it of little benefit to the country even once it is put into effect.
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