A one-day Agrotech IP Conference on “Nurturing Innovation and Intellectual Property in Plant Varieties and Agri-Startups” was organized at CSIR-IIIM, Branch Lab, Srinagar on the 4th day of celebrations of National Intellectual Property Festival, under the aegis of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav (AKAM) to mark the 75 years of India’s Independence, The National Intellectual Property Festival was earlier inaugurated at CSIR-IIIM, Jammu on July 17, 2023. The conference was attended by farmers, entrepreneurs, Scientists, Research scholars and students of various institutions along with officials from other Government departments.

The conference aimed to empower local community with essential knowledge and requisite understanding of their rights and responsibilities under the PPV&FRA Act. The purpose of the conference was also to educate scientists, farmers, research scholars and students about the key provisions and benefits of this important legislation.

Dr. Viswajanani J. Sattegeri, Head, CSIR –TKDL, New Delhi while delivering the keynote address presented an overview of traditional knowledge in the context of IPR and how it can inspire further innovations thereby promoting IP fillings. She further emphasized on development of various herbal medicines and plant varieties, especially in the context of the rich biodiversity of Jammu & Kashmir.

Dr Uma Kant Dubey, Deputy Registrar, Protection of Plant varieties and Farmers Rights Authority (PPV&FRA), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, while delivering his address, provided awareness on protection of plant varieties and the Farmers Rights Act, 2001. He gave an in-depth explanation of PPV&FRA Act’s key provisions, rights, and obligations for farmers and plant breeders. Further, he created awareness about the benefits of using protected varieties in the perspective of crops and medicinal plants grown in the Kashmir valley.

Dr Manju Gerard, Principal Scientist, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi, delivered a detailed session on scope of intellectual property rights in creating agricultural start-ups.

Dr. Prashanth Kumar, Assistant Registrar of Geographical Indication (GI), Geographical Indications Registry, India gave an overview of GI and deliberated on the process of filing applications for GI tagging of various products.

Earlier Dr. Fayaz Ahmad Malik, Senior Principal Scientist of CSIR-IIIM in his welcome address, presented a brief overview highlighting the significance of today’s event.

Dr Kancherla Prasad, the Convener of the conference informed the participants about the importance of such conference to promote knowledge sharing, collaboration, and the protection of intellectual property rights in the Agrotech industry.

Ms. Najwa, Research scholar, conducted the proceedings, while as Dr. Qazi Parvaiz Hassan, Sr. Principal Scientist presented the vote of thanks. Dr. Qazi congratulated all the members of the organizing committee including Dr. Fayaz Malik, Dr. Syed Riyaz-Ul-Hassan, Dr. Muzamil Ahmad, Dr. Shahid Rasool,  Mr M. Ayoub Bhat  & Dr. Syed Khalid Yousuf  for the successful conduct of the event.

The conference was attended by 150 participants inclusive of scientists, entrepreneurs, farmers, students and Government officials offline, while as over 140 participants attended the lectures through the online mode.