Gujarat Government Backs Potato Farmers Sued By PepsiCo For Growing ‘Patented’ FC5 Variety Used In Lay’s Chips

PepsiCo India which recently sued small farmers from Gujarat for growing its patented variant of potatoes, is said to have reached out to the farmers and has offered to settle the issue, reports The Hindu.

Meanwhile, the Gujarat government has decided to back potato farmers sued by the company.

As per an Economic Times report, nine farmers have been sued for Rs 1.5 crore each for ‘illegally’ growing its registered FC5 potato variety which it uses in making Lay’s chips.

To settle the matter, the company has also sought that the farmers stop growing its registered variety of potato and surrender the existing stocks, or join its corporate farming programme. The farmers requested for a time of 72 hours to consider the settlement.

The government of Gujarat has decided to support the farmers in their legal battle with PepsiCo after it a received representation of the farmers to intervene in the matter and will submit to the court that it be included as party backing the farmers. The case will next be next heard on 12 June in the Ahmedabad civil court.

This decision to boycott Pepsi saw widespread outrage from across the country and abroad with many calling for the company’s boycott.

As many as 192 farmer organisations, including the RSS-affiliate Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, and rights activists made a strong representation that the company should withdraw cases against the farmers.

The company under Section 64 of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPV&FR) Act, 2001 is claiming an infringement of its rights while the farmers groups cited Section 39 of the same Act, which say that a farmer is allowed “to save, use, sow, resow, exchange, share or sell his farm produce including seed of a variety protected under this Act” as long as he does not sell “branded seed”.

Incidentally, PepsiCo is India’s largest processed grade potato buyer. It includes thousands of farmers as the largest collaborative potato farming operation in India.