In a significant development, a variety of rice bred by a T.Narsipur-based farmer has been recognised for its salient features and qualities by the Plant Varieties Registry, Government of India, which has issued its stamp of approval.
The certificate issued under the provisions of Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001, also gives Shankar Guru exclusive rights to produce, sell, market, distribute, import or export the variety for an initial period of 6 years and renewable subsequently subject to certain conditions.
.Krishnaprasad of Sahaja Samruddha, an organisation promoting sustainable farming and involved in conservation of indigenous varieties of paddy, said this is akin to issuing a patent to the farmer and is a rare development.
‘’Securing an certificate from Plant Varieties Registry is preceded by scientific assessment and evaluation and in case of NMS-2 variety of rice bred by Mr. Shankar Guru, trial cultivations were carried out at VC Farm in Mandya which is affiliated to the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru’’, said Mr. Krishnaprasad. It is now for the government to take the success story of the farmer forward and promote and mainstream it, he added.
Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Shankar Guru said the process – from breeding NMS-2 to its certification – took almost 20 years. He said the nomenclature stands for Narsipura Madarahalli Shankar (NMS). ‘’But N also stands for my wife’s name Nirmala who worked hard alongside in the field.’
Incidentally, the Indian Council for Agricultural Research had also recognised that benefits of NMS-2 which thrives under minimum management practices but provides higher yield.
Mr. Shankar Guru, who is now in his mid-70s, has been a farmer all his life and has been involved in conservation of different varieties of seeds since 3 decades besides breeding new varieties.
‘I had about 25 acres of land but currently own about 12 acres of land and also supply seeds to other farmers. I have 16 varieties of paddy seeds and NMS-2 is popular because of its high yield with minimal intervention besides providing higher nutritional value and being resistant to environmental stress and diseases’’, said Mr. Shankar Guru.
He said the application seeking certificate from Plant Variety Registrar was filed by National Innovation Foundation, Ahmedabad, sometime in 2015 and the entire process from land to lab and final certification after evaluation has taken about 20 years. Not resting on his laurels, Shankar Guru, despite his advancing age, says he will continue to be engaged in breeding new varieties of crops which are locally sustainable and resistant to environmental stress.
