Plant Genome Saviour Awards 2024-25 |ForumIAS

News: Union Agriculture Minister recently presented ‘Plant Genome Saviour Awards’ to farmers in New Delhi.

About Plant Genome Saviour Awards 2024-25

Purpose of the Awards: These awards honour individual farmers, communities, and organizations for their outstanding contributions to conserving traditional seed varieties, protecting plant genetic resources, and promoting biodiversity.
Award Categories & Recipients: Recognized entities and individuals included: Community Seed Bank, Telangana, Shiksha Niketan, Purba Bardhaman (West Bengal), Mithilanchal Makhana Producers’ Association, CRS-Na Dihing Tenga Unyan Committee, Assam, Shri Bhupendra Joshi (Uttarakhand), Shri T. Joseph (Kerala) and Shri Lakshan Pramanik, Shri Ananthamurthy J, Shri Nakul Singh (Bihar), Shri Narendra Singh (Uttarakhand), among others.
Financial Incentives: Under the PPV&FRA scheme, financial rewards up to ₹15 lakh are provided to encourage the conservation of indigenous seed varieties.

Establishment: Constituted under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001; functions under the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India.
Headquarters: Located in New Delhi.
Core Objectives:
- Grant intellectual property rights to plant breeders for developing new plant varieties.
- Recognize and reward farmers and communities for conserving traditional varieties.
- Protect farmers’ rights to save, use, sow, resow, exchange, share, and sell farm-saved seeds of registered varieties.
- Promote research, innovation, and biodiversity conservation.
- Maintain the National Register of Plant Varieties (NRPV) and document valuable germplasm resources.
Significance:
- Safeguards traditional knowledge and ensures equitable benefit sharing from the use of indigenous varieties.
- Serves as a bridge between scientific innovation and traditional farming wisdom.
- Supports India’s goals of seed sovereignty, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable agriculture.