A step towards sustainable agriculture

To provide enough food and gainful; employment to increasing population is a big challenge before agricultural scientist. To feed such a large population we have to produce at least 205 mt extra food grains and have to double our present day milk, vegetables, fruits, eggs, meat production besides meeting their requirement for fuel, fiber, timber etc for clothing and housing. To primitive know-how of crop cultivation has been transformed into modern agriculture, through ages and it is still changing. And evolving according to the economics, social and environmental needs. It was aptly uttered by Pandit Jawaharlaal Nahru ‘everything can wait but not the agriculture’. In the post green revolution era, imbalanced fertilization, excessive irrigation and indiscriminate use of pesticides have undermined the sustainability.
This step can be carry forwarded by equal participation of both the gender through timely and proper extension services.

Information Revolution -

Indian Society has its own folk arts, folk dance, folk epics. India villages are full of handicrafts, shilps, wooden work, mattle work. Traditonal media have been serving as a Significant channel of communication. But Modern information revolution gives wide platform to our original culture. The rural art identify themselves with the proper presentation though media Modern informative media - Vibrant cities - have more persuasive power and are able to create genuine interest among their audience. Their imporant features are only local appeal, indigenous nature, cultural compativility and also radio station. But the became more popular, more effective with Information Revolution.
# Meaning of Information Revolution :
The 21st century is the century of knowledge. The changing role of
information creats new eyes of world. The great “Visfot of Gyan” is been created with the information revolution. The jumping progress is found with new area every where.
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The new ambitions are created, new maps are drawn. Also in rural India, the “Gyan-bhookh” of rural people is starting to activate with global world.The main objective of the revolution is to satisfy all facilities of ordinary people with modern information technology and media. The most important ways are - 4To store the information
4To inter-relate the information
4To exchange the information
4To make proper use of information with proper way to proper person.with changing pattern of global market, proper ingormation techonlogies are lead the elonomy to development There are certain media like Typewritting, phone, fax, mobile, press, Talex, Computer, Interenet, Intranet. They are making great revolution also in rural area
# Village culture and seasonal occasions
Traditional media were focus on the rural traditions, culture and values of societies. They are all falk media. They are close to the heart of rural societies. They are unique in nature as they resemble the day-to-day life pattern of the rural masses Their. Special nature is derived from the fait that they have no grammer or literature yet they are nurtured through oral and functional sources The most popular traditional art forms of our county are the 'Tamasha', Powada, Nautanki, Yakshagana, Therukuthu, Jatra, bhavai. Balad forms, folk music, riddles, falk tales and puppetry.
# Important features of Traditional media –
== Literaly level -
The literaly level is very low in our country, which again a basic ordinary people with modern information technology and media. The most important ways are –
4To store the information
4To inter-relate the information
4To exchange the information
4To make proper use of information with proper way to proper person.with changing pattern of global market, proper ingormation techonlogies are lead the elonomy to development There are certain media like Typewritting, phone, fax, mobile, press, Talex, Computer, Interenet, Intranet. They are making great revolution also in rural area
== Village culture and seasonal occasions
Traditional media were focus on the rural traditions, culture and values of societies. They are all falk media. They are close to the heart of rural societies. They are unique in nature as they resemble the day-to-day life pattern of the rural masses Their. Special nature is derived from the fait that they have no grammer or literature yet they are nurtured through oral and functional sources The most popular traditional art forms of our county are the 'Tamasha', Powada, Nautanki, Yakshagana, Therukuthu, Jatra, bhavai. Balad forms, folk music, riddles, falk tales and puppetry.
The literaly level which again a basic necessity for information revolution. According to Kothari and Takeda (2000) literacy is a critical aspect of the soft infrastructure that will determine the extent and nature of the information revolution At the turn of the millenium, even the telecommunication infrastructure in rural area is not cover the programme. The worldwide internet would hardly be able to rural people includation because of illiteacy and English language barries. Only half of the adults of whole country (Rural + urban) are illiterate. Only half of literate may be able to take the advantage of the text-based matter in books or internet.

== Communication gap : (Vacume of information)
In fact, there has been a communication gap or vacuum of information in the villages, because the new media have not been able to reach the rural masses and the traditional media have been shrugged off or discarded by the developmental agencics
# Past experiences - (Researches for development purpose)
In India, during the freedam struggle when the mass media were
under the British control, the freedom fighters were using the local appeal like Tamasha, Bhavai, Street, play etc. (Ranganath, 1980) The propagators of folk theatre like Alkazi and Habib Tanvir have successfully spread a number of educational messages through their folk theatre. The centrul and state govt., after independance, used the Nationalist Harikath to educate the masses on family planning, developmentsl activities, democratic values and national integration. The Banks and The Life Insurance corporation have effectively necessity for information revolution. According to kothari and Takeda (2000) literacy is a critical aspect of the soft infrastructure that will determine the extent and nature of the information revolution At the turn of the millenium, even the telecommunication infrastructure in rural area is not cover the programme. The worldwide internet would hardly be able to rural people includation because of illiteacy and English language barries. Only half of the adults of whole country (Rural + urban) are illiterate. Only half of literate may be able to take the advantage of the text-based matter in books or internet..The Banks and The Life Insurance corporation have effectivelyused Indian puppertry for arousny interest of Rural people for bank savings and LIC policies.
# A pilot study by the Indian Institute of Mass communication on comparative power use the documentary film method in two villages.
The Institute of Rural communication has successfully completed a compaign on environment building for literacy in Udalpur in Rajstan which was bassed on the use of information media. One survey, said Gaur, Paliwal, (1997) that successfully covered 756 villages for bringing a attitudinal change amony the rural masses in approach There is a need for socially relevant courses and generation of resources through consultabcy services etc in cooperation with the industries and private sector. Much of our education system continued to be based upon the British or Western perspectives of cource the aim of literacy is to spread the knowledge and not creation of wrong values, but there was a need to bring proper awareness of and sensivity towards our society's rich heri tage and culture and to identify new frontiers of knowledge with a holistic approach. Srivastave, Chairman, Bihar state inter University Board remarks that the poor academic scenario need the maintenance of adequate number and quality of teachers in institutions. The good teachers should collectivety resolve to strive for better standards of education to the best of their abilities. The workshops, semenars, conferences are essentially an exercise for quality consciousness in the field of education and felt that the need of the hours to self- analysis by each of one. Gopalan and Cusat (2000) talked about innovation and spoke on the pivotal role of higher education in information revolution. They said that Qualiry is never an accident and is always a result of integrated effort. Quality is a continuous journey and not a destination. Here importance of an effective teacher in developing quality is necessiary input in this process so society should have a thorough understanding of "Effective Teaching Methods" and "Parameters of Quality".
# Training Programmes -
The National Assessment and Accredition council organised a series of frainy programme to creat a national pool of academicians to carry out the uphill task of Assessment approaches to the teachers NAAC is all set to accredit about 1000 higher education institutions per year. To uphold the credibility of the assessment process, NAAC has evolved many safeguards and protocols. One of the strategies that have ensured the professionalism of NAAC's process is the development of National Cadre of Assessors. The need for introducing into Electronic Assessment and Accreditation process and evolve electronically aided assessment which will facllitate quick assessment. Regional Training programmes on capality building for women leadership and governance in Higher Education also organised for the quick rural development.
# The Challanges and the Quary by Govt. :
The rural and urban India have great challanges for the I.T.sectorGovt. tries to cruare the challanges.
4 Indian Govt. has passed the Act - "Right for Information Act 2005" on 12th oct. 2005.
4 Govt has aimed to import Sobiliion dollars Information Technology softwares.
4 Govt decide to import this not only in America, but also in Japan, Australia, Singapore and othe developing countries.
4 In Global world, IT business developed upto 307 billion American dollars in 1990. It was update with 500 billian American dollars in 1995 and 850 billian American dollar in 2000 which will update with 900 billian American dollars 2008.
4 The main Global market for IT industrics is 50% of Amenrica The Indian software market has special features like competitive market lack of foreign Exchange, early repayment of capital, Technical designing problems, continuous price incrementation, etc.All these situations creat the belon given challenges to the industries.
== To appreciate the good work
India has to create environment for good workers with best salaries and best facilities. So they will not going to foreign countries for best life style.
== To qualify the managers
In global world, best management is the master key of success. With great remuneration, fulfill the demand of country - It is the management view. It can be achieved with co-operation of labour and owner.
== Global Brand and Eavity necessity
In Global market, the brand-name has its specil space for equity necessity. Customer will purchase the item, if he fill requirement of the item - "Use" is the optimum aspect. Producer and Consumer will get the decission jointly.
== Be a Global leader
The manager should take all decision with Global environment The strategies for production will base on theat concept. Thus, all managers have a aim to be a global leader
== Govt. laws for awareness
Indian govt's Information Laws are very notable. Australian Technology Park, Malesia Technology Park, Shikago Technology Park, China Information Technology Park, Scottland Technology Park of India have taken place which give guidenance for Import facilities, Student Computer Scheme, To appriciate and initiative the students for education of Information sectors, To create global Information City and National Information Draft and Sybar law committee for polick making of National Information lows.In India Banglore, Heydrabad, Channai, Noida, Bombay are the Electronic cities which will cover other 1000 cities upto 2010. Gandhinagar is the Informatic city in Gujarat, But it is not so developd only three units are active and five another units are not working complitely their. India surely will be a super power country in base of Informatic Revolution But we have to run fast to achieve the goal conclusion. Information and Communication Technologies (ICTS) have been playing signifecance role in promoting rural development in the country. The role being played by TV and Radio in Rural education and extension services can not be overlooked. New information and Communication Technologies the enviranment in which a person and as a Community live and interatt, Communication costs are coming down and information flow amony concerned stakeholders has become much quicker. The main object of these communication technologies from a development perspective is that of empovering people through knowledge. It is believed that it would develop in rural people and in communities a learning and innovation capacity that increases the effectiveness of their efforts to improve the quality of their lives. It is argyed rightly by some expert communication specialists that once knowledge is recognized as the fundamental building block of development options for disadvatages communities around the world the role of communication technologies becomes conspicus in this envisioning process. management view. It can be achieved with co-operation of labour and owner.

MACRO ECONOMIC PARAMETERS FOR 9TH, 10TH AND 11TH PLAN

All figures are averages for the plan period

GDP Growth for Agriculture is 2.0 in 0th plan 1.7 in 10th plan and 4.1 in 11th plan . GDP Growth for Industries is 4.6, 8.3 and 10.5 respectively while for service sector it is 8.1, 9.0 and 9.9.

investment rate in publik sector is 6.7 % 0f GDP and private sector it is 21.1% in 10th plan but 10.2% of GDP of public sector and 24.9 % of GDP in private sector during 11th plan.

Planning commission 2006 gives the figures and 10th plan figures are calculated.

Thus agricultural growth performance has been rather dismal since 1996-97. However the share of agriculture in publik investment which was an average of 11.5% between 1960-61 and 1984-85 starteds falling which averaged only 6,8% from 1990-91 to 2005-06.

the crucial challenge for the situation is the development of infra-structure. there are Two main areas of concern

1. Power

2. Rural infra structure

There are in form of irrigation, roads, and rural electrification.

The chalanges are as follow for rural development

1. regaining agricultural dynamism

2. changing employment patterns so that non agricultures opportunities increas at 6.0% / year.

3. Ensuring health and education services to the poor and securing quality improvements.

4. Increasing manufacturing competitiveness and raising the growth rate of manufacturing to 12%

5. Developing human resources with better education and training.

6. Proctacting environment.

7. Improving re-settlement and rehabilitation practices for those dis-placed by development.

8. Improving governance with greater transparency and accountability.

The real test of feasibility for the plan does not lie in the Arcane algebra of growth accounting or inter-sectoral consistency but in the political economy of public policy choices.

“Impact of Trade Reforms on the Agri-Input Industry in India with special reference to the Agrochemical Industry”

Policies that make an economy open to trade and investment with the rest of the world are needed for sustained economic growth. No country in recent decades has achieved economic success, in terms of substantial increases in living standards for its people, without being open to the rest of the world. Opening up their economies to the global economy has enabled many developing countries such as India to develop competitive advantage in the manufacture of certain products. Although there are benefits from improved access to other countries’ markets, countries benefit most from liberalizing their own markets. The main benefits for industrialized countries would come from liberalization of their agricultural markets. Developing countries would gain equally from liberalization of manufacturing and agriculture. However, the agricultural sector in most OECD countries is heavily protected from international competition and receives substantial public sector support. Depending on their nature, subsidies can inflict significant damage on producers in other countries, as well as domestic taxpayers and consumers. Despite reforms in recent years aimed at delinking subsidies from production, more than 70% of assistance to producers continues to be provided through market price supports, and payments per unit of output, partly associated with export subsidies. During the last decade of the previous century, two significant developments took place in India. The first development relates to initiation of economic liberalization as a part of the economic reforms initiated by the Government of India in 1991. Under the economic reforms process, the main importance was given to the industrial sector, then foreign trade and then to the financial sector. In comparison to other sectors of the economy, the reforms in agriculture sector were slow. The main agricultural reform strategies in India were:
(i) Removing restrictions on the movement of agricultural commodities
(ii) Abolition of quantitative restrictions and substitution by export and import tariffs.
(iii) Revamping public distribution system
(iv) Gradual removal of input subsidies
(v) Emphasis on improved dry land farming
(vi) Efficient management of land and water resources
(vii) Incentive prices
(viii) profitable technology
(ix) Input and service supports
The main reason for the fall in the agriculture output growth from the pre to post reform period is the fall in productivity growth. One possible reason for this fall in productivity growth may be the soil fertility, there is no doubt that seed-fertilizer technology has dramatically increased the food production in India, but it has created problems for the long-term sustainability. However, the new varieties of seeds are highly prone to pest and need huge amount of pesticides. These varieties are also very much fertilizer and irrigation based. Increasing use of pesticides, chemical fertilizers and canal irrigation without proper arrangement of drainage create problems to the soil fertility. But not all the states, basically the agriculturally advanced states like Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh who have reached a plateau are facing this sustainability problem. Another possible reason of this fall in productivity growth may be the withdrawal of the fertilizer subsidy. The farming has become more costly and less profitable. With the low level of capital base, it is quite hard for small and marginal farmers to afford this
The second development relates to the formulation of WTO. It was expected that the implementation of WTO Agreements would benefit the agrarian countries like India. The agricultural sector is a dominant sector of the Indian Economy, like other developing nations. With the agricultural sector getting into the mainstream of WTO, India was expecting a better deal in terms of market access for the agricultural products. However, contrary to the expectations, situation changed dramatically after under the globalization of India’s agricultural trade under WTO Regime. After the implementation, international prices of agricultural commodities have dropped to very low levels whereas the domestic prices of these commodities have turned higher than the international prices. This has made Indian market attractive for import of several agricultural commodities. On the other hand, exports have witnessed sharp decline after 1996. The above developments are threatening the agricultural production in the country, causing a lot of apprehension about the impact of trade liberalization under the WTO regime on the agricultural sector in India. These developments in agricultural trade have created a sense of uncertainty among farming community relating to the future of their profession Therefore, the impact of WTO on the country’s agricultural sector has two aspects: Firstly, the possibility of increased agricultural imports as a result of reduced tariff barriers, and secondly, the possibility of increased export opportunities as a result of increased market access through trade liberalization. The WTO trade negotiation framework offers each member country an opportunity to strike a balance between these two aspects through reciprocal arrangements with its trading partners on the issues of market access and tariff reductions. To follow this, each country has to have a clear perspective regarding its short-term priorities and long-term economic interests.
Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights:
The bright light of innovation has illuminated world agriculture during the 20th Century. The discoveries in crop protection chemicals, fertilizers seeds, and Bio-technology and application equipment have made possible yields only dreamed of 100 or even 50 years ago. Population experts agree that world’s population will rise from today’s 6 billion to a peak population of 8.5 billion, whereas the number of farmers around the world is decreasing rapidly. New technologies to support agriculture will be needed if we have to meet challenge of feeding our growing population. Discovery in most cases is a costly and time-consuming process. Without the opportunity for a reasonable and fair market success to recapture investments and earn a profit, there would be no incentive to invest in the next great discovery. Therefore, global protection of intellectual property is vital to our future. Intellectual property protection is an obscure blend of science and art, thick legal protocols intertwined with very practical commercial impacts. Intellectual Property Rights were brought within the scope of GATT/WTO framework for the first time through the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights ((TRIPS). As a result, there were stipulations on the nature of Patents (Process and Patent) and their duration (20) years to bring them more in line with the practice prevailing in advanced countries like U.S.A. Tighter protection has been granted to patent holders under TRIPS in a manner that would favor those with a competitive advantage in knowledge based industries that generate Intellectual Property. Such industries include emerging technologies such as Information Technology, Computer Software, Bio-technology and also Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals. Bio-technology is the technology of live systems. It involves the use of living systems to give society more or better food, drugs and other products. Bio-technology has application in diverse industries including agriculture. The WTO’s TRIPs Agreement exerts a very significant influence on the future of bio-technology in agriculture. As Agriculture plays a very important role in the Indian Economy, it is essential to examine the implications of TRIPs Agreement vis-à-vis Bio-technology developments in Indian Agriculture.


(1) Different forms of intellectual property: Intellectual property consists of patents, trademarks, copyrights, data protection, industrial designs, and confidential information, plant variety rights etc., each requiring different type of protection. For example, a patent for a product prevents making, using and selling of that product without a license or express permission of the patent holder. A registered trademark prevents unlicensed use of that mark or of a similar mark or goods. Data protection prevents copying or unauthorized use of the data in question.
(2) Need for TRIPs: Protection of Intellectual property is a vital concern for continuing development of new technologies and products. It has become a prerequisite for membership to the WTO. A giant step towards Intellectual Property Protection standards was made with development of the Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights better known as TRIPs Agreement. Adopted during the Uruguay Round of Trade Negotiations in 1994, TRIPs sets clear minimum standards for the protection of patents and trademarks. Though TRIPs has some shortcomings, it significantly improves the level of protection for all forms of intellectual property. TRIPs establish a patent term of 20 years starting from date of application. It also limits the ability of WTO member countries to continue to exclude broad areas of technology from coverage under their patent laws. It also codifies standards for granting and enforcing of copyrights and related rights, trademarks, geographical indications, industrial designs, patents, layout designs of integrated circuits, trade secrets and unfair competition laws. Most importantly, it also establishes a system for the resolution of dispute. With membership of WTO at 135 countries and many more joining most of the countries are bound by TRIPs agreement.
(3) TRIPs Implementation: Developed countries were required to implement TRIPs by 1996. For the developing country members of WTO, January 1, 2000 was the deadline for implementing TRIPs. However least developed country members must put the TRIPs agreement into effect by January 1, 2006. A developing country may be exempted from the application of TRIPs obligations on agricultural chemicals or pharmaceutical product patent for an additional five years. However, the country must provide a means by which patent application for such inventions can be filed. The application need not be examined for their patentability until the country starts applying product patent protection in that area. At that time, the application must be examined. If the application is successful, product patent protection must be granted for the remaining period of the patent term counted from the date of application. If the product obtains marketing approval before the decision on granting of the patent is taken, exclusive marketing rights for a period up to 5 years must be granted
(4) Standards of protection:
(i) Patent term— 20 years counted from the filing date.
(ii) Member countries must exclude plants and animals other than microorganisms and essentially biological process for the production of plants and animals other than non-biological and microbiological processes.
(iii) Any country excluding plant varieties from IP protection must provide an effective Sui generis system of protection.
(5) Extent of protection:
(i) Protection is provided for undisclosed information such as trade secrets or know-how.
(ii) Prohibits disclosure of test data and other data submitted to governments as a condition of approving the marketing of agricultural chemical products, which use new chemical entities.
(iii) Protection of test data and other data against unfair commercial use.
(iv) Establishes general obligations that all enforcement procedures must meet.
(6) Enforcement of TRIPs:
(i) Procedures must permit effective action against any act of infringement of Intellectual Property Rights.
(ii) Remedies must be expeditious and must constitute a deterrent to further infringements.
(iii) Procedures must be applied in such a manner as to avoid the creation of barriers to legitimate trade.
(iv) Criminal procedures must be applied in cases of willful trademark counterfeiting or copyright piracy on a commercial scale.
(v) A non-backsliding clause forbids countries from using the transitional period for adoption of the TRIPs agreement to reduce the level of protection of Intellectual Property in a way, which would result in lesser degree of consistency with the requirements of the agreement.
(7) Broad issues covered by TRIPs:
The TRIPs agreement covers five broad issues:
(i) How principles of the trading system and other international Intellectual Property (IP) agreements should be applied.
(ii) Offer adequate protection to IP rights.
(iii) How countries should enforce these rights in their own territories.
(iv) How to settle disputes on IP issues.
(v) Special transitional arrangements during the period when a new system is being introduced.
(8) Role of WTO: Since its inception in 1995, the WTO has made a significant impact on the way we conduct international business. WTO strives to achieve global trading harmony to ensure that trade flows as smoothly, fairly and freely as possible. The Uruguay Round, which lasted from 1986-1994, led to the WTO creation. Head quartered in Geneva, Switzerland, the WTO is the successor of the General Agreement on Trade and Tariff (GATT), which was established in 1948 in the wake of World War II. Although just in existence for ten years, WTO uses the multilateral trading system, which GATT established more than 50 years ago.
(9) Geographical indications: There is a trend to develop or officially adopt geographical indications across a growing range of products. An intellectual register for names of wines and spirits already exists. Similar mechanism may be adopted for a wide range of products many of which will be agricultural products. According to the Director of the Intellectual Property Division of WTO, Geographic Indications could be key to the adjustment process associated with agricultural liberalization by distinguishing between mass produced commodities with low prices and specialized goods produced according to traditional methods and sold at price premiums.
(10) Changes needed in TRIPs: TRIPs agreement needs to be updated to better address new technologies because the TRIPs agreement was designed for more traditional products. Products emerging from biotechnology and especially digital technology are awkwardly handled by TRIPs. Besides this, there are emerging policy issues such as ethics and interface between the TRIPs agreement, the Conventions on Bio-Diversity and UPOV (International Union for Protection of new varieties of plants) that requires political discussion within a competent technical forum.
TRIPs and its Implications on the Agri-Input Sector in India:
(1) The Seed Industry in India: Indian agriculture has shown a remarkable growth since last 50 years and now getting ready to have a second green revolution. Seed as a valuable input is the base of the growth of agriculture. Indian seed industry has the potential to become the global leader and now our companies are getting better equipped with technologies to face the global challenge. The Agri-input industry provides essential support to the modern agriculture. Seeds are one of the most critical inputs in agricultural production. The Indian seed market is among the ten largest in the world and was estimated to be around $1 billion in 2005. The government of India (GoI) formulated the national seed policy in 2002 to replace the older seed policy of 1988 and thereby laid down comprehensive reforms in the seed sector to encourage the private sector involvement. The measures include protection of Intellectual property rights (IPR’s), provisions for tax rebate and concession on expenditure for in-house R&D of new varieties. It is estimated that about 46% of seed Commercially sold in India is produced by the private sector seed companies, out of which the organized sector accounts for 55%. The implications of a new Product Patent Regime for the Agri-Input Industry are mainly with regard to availability and prices of seeds for the farmers. The recent rules of the World Trading System under the Agreement on TRIPS have brought seeds issue to the centre stage of the debate on management of the agricultural sector. Green Revolution and the recent developments in bio-technological research have created a new class of Entrepreneurs even Multinationals-in the form of plant breeders and seeds companies.
There are four important questions on the seed issue:
First, The standardization of seeds and the consequent near extinction of the hardy drought resistant varieties.
Second, transferability of seeds among farmers as per the Conventions and traditions practiced since the beginning of Agriculture.
Thirdly, there is a growing concern that the cost of agriculture may increase significantly if the plant breeders and the seed companies create a monopoly or oligopolistic market for seeds.
Finally, the recent upsurge of interest in reverting to the traditional practice of using organic seeds and adopting organic farming methods have raised a big question mark about the future of hybrid varieties of seeds, pesticides and chemical fertilizers. The new rules of trade provides for “protection of plant varieties either by patents or by an effective Sui Generis System or any combination thereof”. These provisions have been essentially aimed at protecting the interests of plant breeders and the seed companies on the rationale that they would have spent huge resources on Research and Development. The Sui Generis System is supposed to be governed by the Conventions and the principles under an International Agreement called UPOV. The objective of UPOV Convention is to ensure the member states acknowledging the achievements of breeders of plant varieties, by making available to them exclusive property rights on the basis of set of uniform and clearly defined principles. In case, plant varieties needs to be patented, the period of patent rights should be kept the shortest. Any innovation on seeds should be treated as a public good and like public utilities. Research in these areas should be subsidized and extensively supported by both the public and private sectors. Fortunately, the Agreement on Agriculture under WTO has exempted subsidy on Apicultural R&D from the purview of reduction commitments. There should be full use of this provision. Further, the current upsurge for standardization of seeds should be systematically thwarted and the approach of gene banks and extensive research on drought prone hardy seed varieties should be encouraged to retain and expand the Bio-diversity base of the seeds market. The best way to safeguard the interests of the rural economy against the oligopolistic nature of the seeds market is to encourage establishment of more and more seed co-operatives and local seed companies so that the undue hold of the Multinational on this critical element of the agricultural sector is to be kept to be the minimum. After the Marrakech Agreement pertaining to seeds, large number of Multinational companies is rushing to collect germ plasmas of wild plant varieties located in the less developed countries. This process of stealing the biological wealth of the third world countries is known as Bio-piracy. These countries are rich in biological wealth and poor in economic terms account for top ranks in terms of animal birds and plant varieties. India figures 8th in terms of mammal, birds and plant varieties. On the other hand, the developed countries are demanding that all germ plasmas be recognized as a public resource and a part of the heritage of mankind. This would give them the right to collect germ plasma without payment of any compensation. But after improvement, they will get patent for the same and sell to the developing countries.Recently, the agri-business companies have developed “terminator technology”. The objective is not to allow the farmers to use the same seed again and again and force them to go back to MNC’s for new seeds every year. While agriculture is synonymous with regeneration, renewal and reproduction this technology negates the whole concept. Even those who do not use terminator seeds, its pollen would spread over a large areas and make other seeds infertile. The MNC’s are also developing weedicides that are specific to a particular seed variety. Such weedicides would make it possible for farmers to spray chemicals even when the crop is standing. Similarly, fertilizers and pesticides particular to a specific seed variety is being produced. All this will increase the dependency of farmers on MNC’s.
(2) The Fertilizer Industry in India: Providing food and nutritional security from the available or could be shrinking resources to over a billion population of India on sustainable basis is a gigantic task. Fertilizer industry through production, distribution and promotion of fertilizer use has assisted in increasing the food grains production in the country. Timely availability of inputs in adequate quantities at consuming point is necessary to enhance food grains production…In the post reform period, however, this sector is suffering heavily on account of issues related to subsidy. As a result, there have been practically no investments for large scale ammonia/urea grass root plants in the past several years, in India. The high feedstock costs coupled with high plant construction costs have virtually made it impossible to produce urea and DAP/NPK at international price levels, based on new grass root projects. The Indian fertilizer companies therefore have turned their attention to other countries where cheaper gas is available. This is to set up new ammonia/urea plants. Unfortunately, it appears that situation may not substantially change in the next few years.
Impact of TRIPs on the Indian Agri-Input Industry
-A Case Study of the Indian Agrochemical Industry
The implications of TRIPs for domestic players of the agrochemical industry are quite serious. The new patent regime will be an area of major concern considering the negligible investments the industry as a whole has made in R&D. Access to new molecules is likely to limit the growth of many of the local players, restricting their activity to the generics segment of the business. One option for Indian companies is to have some sort of collaboration or tie-up with existing MNC’s or overseas companies. After 2005, the crop protection markets will be in for major shake out, with a number of small players exiting the business followed by some of the bigger players, who will find the cost of staying in the business too prohibitive. However, efficient generic manufacturers would continue to have their niche markets as over 70% of agrochemical products currently in use are off patent. For domestic manufacturers of generic products, success would be determined by their ability to cash in on their competitive advantage and in offering cheaper generics at lower costs through improvisation in process technologies. Thus the import of new technologies in manufacture and product formulation is a must for India. Also the ability of domestic manufacturers have to provide value-based services to the increasingly literate farmers will be a key to survival for the industry, especially as farmers will have a wider array of newer, low dosage and more environmentally compatible products to choose from. This would call for a strong commitment as the part of the industry. With the multinationals having a head start in terms of new molecules, it is likely that process of catching up may not be an effective strategy for the Indian companies and the future would see many players working closely with multinationals.
(1) Data compensation: Striking a balance between data originators and generics: Before a pesticide may be sold or distributed in the US, it must be registered by the US Environment Protection Agency (EPA). US Laws primarily the Federal Insecticides, Fungicides, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) and the Federal Food Drug and Cosmetics Act requires numerous studies and data to be submitted to EPA to support a pesticide registration. Because development of the data is costly and time consuming, data submitters wish to protect their investments in data. A generic manufacturer, on the other hand, wants to rely on the same data to obtain a “Me-too” Registration. FIFRA strikes a balance between these competing interests through an “exclusive use” provision which temporarily protects data from use by a competitor and a “data compensation” provision which allows competitors to use data as long as they pay or make an offer to pay for such data. Currently FIFRA grants a 10 years exclusive use period following the date of first registration of a pesticide and a 15-year data compensation period following the date of data submission. This compromise was reached in 1978 and is known as FIFRA 3(c) (1) (F), 7 U.S.C. Section 136 A (C) (1) (F). Under this compromise, the registrant is granted a 10 years period of exclusive use for data submitted to support the registration of products containing new active ingredients. Exclusive use is offered only to data submitted to support the application for the original registration of the product containing the new active ingredient or data submitted to support an amendment adding a new use to the registration. Data submitted to support a new use only receive exclusive use for the unexpired period of the original 10 years term; new use data are not entitled for an independent 10-year term. Further more. “Defensive data” are not eligible for exclusive use treatment. “Defensive data” are data submitted to support the continued registration of a pesticide such as in response to a data call in or a special review. EPA also grants registrants a 15 years data compensation period available for most types of pesticides research data relied upon. Each submission of data receives an independent 15 years period. In the U.S., under FIFRA and EPA’s data compensation regulations, a company may obtain a registration for previously registered pesticides without performing these studies required for registration. Instead, by using a “Cite-all” application an applicant may cite data in EPA files submitted by prior registrants of the same pesticide, provided an applicant make an offer to pay for citation of such data perhaps contrary to traditional principal of contract law, this offer is binding on both parties even in the absence of meeting of minds as to which data the ‘follow on’ registrants is citing and the amount of consideration the ‘follow on’ registrant is to pay for such data. Disputes over such issues are resolved through binding arbitration. In data compensation arbitrations, a dispute as to whether a given study is encompassed by a cite all applicant and thus subject to the data compensation obligations, frequently centers on whether the study is required to support registration of the pesticides. This issue has become a dominant theme in data compensation arbitrations involving studies submitted pursuant to the Food Quality Protection Act of 1996 (FQPA). Under EPA regulations, a cite all applicant necessarily acknowledges reliance on “the types of data that EPA would require to be submitted if the application sought the original registration under FIFRA of a product with composition and intended uses identical or substantially similar to the applicant’s present application”. In a data compensation proceeding, the arbitrator is often called upon to determine which of the data developer’s studies in EPA would require to be submitted.... This can be extremely complicated. No single source lists the entire data one must submit to register a particular pesticide. EPA’s data requirement regulations, found at 40 C.F.R. Part 158, specify only the minimum amounts of information required for registration. Moreover, EPA has not amended or updated its data requirements since 1984. Therefore, arbitrators will look to other sources of information — such as data call in (DCI) data, registration standards, re-registration eligibility documents (REDs) and correspondence between EPA and the data developer — to determine the data requirements. In short, even before the enactment of the FQPA, it was no simple task for an arbitrator to identify the data relied on by a cite-all applicant. With the enactment of FQPA in 1996, the arbitration task of identifying data requirement became even more complicated. Among other things, the FQPA requires EPA to consider new types of data in determining acceptable pesticide residue levels (Tolerances) for agricultural commodities. FQPA requires EPA to evaluate risk associated with “aggregate exposure to the pesticide chemical residue including all anticipating dietary exposures and all other exposures for which there is reliable information”. EPA must also consider the cumulative effects on infants and children. Finally EPA must consider the effects of pesticides residues and other substances that have a common mechanism of toxicity. In most cases, EPA fails to make an express requirement for FQPA data. Consequently, to establish entitlement to compensation for a cite-all registrant, a data submitter must demonstrate through other evidence that such FQPA data was required. One of the best sources of such evidence is correspondence with EPA concerning the FQPA data. To enhance the likelihood of receiving compensation for FQPA data, the data submitter should take the following steps:
(i) Articulate in correspondence with EPA why the data are being submitted.
(ii) Seek written confirmation from EPA that the data were considered by the agency in performing FQPA assessments.
(iii) Review decision documents issued by EPA, to verify that the agency has listed the Registrants FQPA data as a reference.
(iv) If EPA fails to list FQPA data submissions in decision documents, request the agency to correct the omission.
(v) Following Re registration make sure that EPA informs follow on registrants of their obligation to either submit their own FQPA data or offer compensation to the data submitter. EPA has indicated that it plans to issue a pesticide registration notice classifying the data compensation status of FQPA data.
(2) Bio-technology patents: Biotechnology is one of the most research-intensive industries in the world. In the U.S. alone, the biotech industry reportedly spent $9 billion in Research and Development in 1997. This industry is also very sensitive to copying and piracy since many inventions involve the description and function of genetic material where barrier to illegal exploitation are low. In the U.S., Federal Court decisions to date have upheld patents for exclusive property right in biotechnology inventions. This trend began in 1980 with the groundbreaking decision by the Supreme Court in the case of Diamond V. Chakraborty, which held that a living genetically altered microorganism, constituted patentable subject matter defined as “anything under the Sun that is made by Man”. Beginning in the mid-1990’s nations began to offer plant variety protection (PVP), also known as plant breeders rights (PBP), to breeders. Under PBP a breeder could obtain protection for a new variety, provided it was novel, distinct, uniform and stable. The protection gave the breeder the exclusive right to market the variety, although farmers were able to reuse their seed, and breeders had the right to use protected material in producing new varieties. In 1991, Treaty revision permitted nations to prohibit farmers from reusing harvested seeds and gave breeders certain right over material bred from protected materials and stronger right over products grown with protected seed. This system of protection is governed by an International agreement and organization UPOV (French Acronym for International Union for the Protection of new Varieties of plants). The US will grant a regular patent and a variety with the probable implication that the material cannot be reused by farmers or reused by third parties for further breeding. The U.S. and probably Europe, also grants patents on all plants of a particular species into which a specific new gene, has been inserted by biotechnological means. The U.S. and Europe have also granted patents on wide categories of transgenic plants, for example, all transgenic cotton or Soya bean. Many other nations grant patents on processes for a genetic transformation of plants.
Although many developing countries have been hesitant about adopting such form of intellectual property protection, the trade related intellectual property rights (TRIPs) agreement requires all members of the WTO to make patents available in all fields of technology. Because the private sector will hold many of the advanced technologies, the publicly funded agricultural research community must develop an effective approach to cooperation with the private sector in research and product development. International political pressure is likely to ensure that national governments make an effort to comply with TRIPs. But such efforts should mean more than simply passing TRIPs compliant legislation. The Intellectual property legislation must be supplemented with appropriate training in the courts, law firms and law schools so that law can be used effectively. Effective legislation for managing intellectual property rights for products of government research must also be passed.
References
1. ‘Intellectual Property Rights Supports Agriculture’ Farm Chemicals International, Special Issue March 2000.
2. ‘Intellectual Property Rights’ seminar organized jointly by Asia Pacific Crop Protection Association, Thailand and Indian Crop Protection Association, Mumbai held at New Delhi in October 1998.
3. ‘Management of Intellectual Property and Technological Changes’ by Mr. V. Govindarajulu, Scientist Regional Research Laboratory, Trivandrum Chemical Weekly, Sept. 19, 2000.
4. A brief guide to the WTO for Small Businesses, May 1999, published by Federation of Indian Micro, and Small and Medium Enterprises, New Delhi.
5. A Decade of WTO and Indian Economy edited by SB Yadav published by Sumit Enterprises, New Delhi, 2006.
6. Development Agenda of Third World Countries under the WTO Regime Edited by Dr Stephen Analil published by Serial Publications, New Delhi, 2005
7. India: Foreign Trade Policy and WTO 1991-2003 by Dr Vibha Mathur Published by New Century Publications, Delhi 2003.
8. Indian Agriculture & WTO, Global India and World Trade Organization: Issues and Effects on Indian Agribusiness Industries by Pandya Maurvi and Pathak Priyanka, , Everest Publishing House, Pune. April, 2007.
9. World Trade Organization and Indian Economic Reforms edited by V.B Jugle published by Serials Publications, New Delhi, 2005.
10. “The Indian Chemical Industry is poised to become more buoyant in this decade” by P.D Samudra published in the Chemical World, May-June 2007.