The concept of Farmers’ Rights in the context of intellectual property rights on plant varieties was introduced and elaborated by the Council of the FAO when Prof. M.S.Swaminathan was its independent chairman. Farmers’ Rights is elaborated as the rights of farmers’ arising from the past, present and future contributions in conserving, improving and making available plant genetic resources for modern crop breeding including biotechnological methods. The International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources on Food and Agriculture provides the needed legal recognition to Farmers’ Rights.

MSSRF believes farmers’ that rights is an important ethical and a legal requirement to provide sustainable conservation, particularly in regions recognized as primary centres of genetic diversity. Hence, it is important to India. In the context of the need for establishing sui generis protection to plant varieties in India in compliance with the Trade Related aspects of Intellectual Property rights (TRIPS), MSSRF took early initiative to develop a draft sui generis bill on protection of plant varieties incorporating elaborate provisions on farmers’ rights. This includes definition of farmer as cultivator, conserver and breeder; recognizing and rewarding primary conservers, benefit sharing from commercial utilization of genetic resources, establishing National Gene Fund, etc. The PPVFR Act came into force in India from 2003.

The activities of the SMCGRC in MSSRF is positioned within the legal frame work of PPVFR Act and the BD Act. Apart from empowering the conservers with good practices for sustainable conservation, the SMCGRC facilitate the communities in accessing their legitimate recognition and rewards as well as registering their important plant varieties under the Indian Act. The FRIS database is also made available to others for promoting access to the plant genetic resources being conserved.