New Delhi, May 4 (KNN) India's agricultural sector is rapidly embracing modern innovation and technology, driven by a strong focus on intellectual property rights protection. 

The country is striving to achieve the 'Viksit' status in agriculture by 2047.

At a recent national conference titled 'Innovate, Protect, Prosper: Role of Intellectual Property Protection in taking India's Seed Sector to the Next Level,' experts highlighted the importance of strengthening IP mechanisms, facilitating technology transfer, navigating regulatory frameworks, and building stakeholder awareness.

Dr. Raj S. Paroda, founder chairman of the Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences (TAAS), emphasised that an enabling environment for IPR protection is critical to accelerate agricultural innovations and growth. 

"When innovators are confident of their rights being protected, they are incentivised to invest and innovate further," he said, reported NIE.

India has a unique IPR framework through the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority (PPVFRA), which protects the rights of both plant breeders and farmers, Dr. Paroda noted.

Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, PPVFRA chairperson, said India takes a progressive approach towards plant variety protection, learning from global best practices while recognising farmers' rights as custodians of biodiversity.

Ajai Rana, Chairman of the Federation of Seed Industry of India (FSII), called for a multi-faceted and collaborative approach to build an effective IPR policy and regulatory framework for the seed industry. 

This includes legal reforms, capacity building, stakeholder engagement, and international cooperation.

Experts unanimously agreed that strong IP protection is vital for stimulating innovation, investment, and collaborative research endeavours between the public and private sectors to tackle complex agricultural challenges through open innovation frameworks.

(KNN Bureau)