A parliamentary body on Wednesday approved the Plant Breeders Rights Bill, 2015 for ensuring breeders' rights and establishing a viable seed industry for food security in Pakistan with some proposed amendments. The National Assembly Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat met with Rana Muhammad Hayat Khan in the chair at Parliament House. The committee members after having detailed discussion on the Bill approved it with some amendments.
Among others the meeting was attended by Sheikh Aftab Ahmed Minster In-charge for Cabinet secretariat, MNA Malik Ibrar Ahmed, Sardar Muhammad Irfan Dogra, Abdul Rehman Khan Kanju, Nigat Parveen Mir, Shahnaz Saleem, Farhana Qamar, Seema Mohiuddin Jameeli, Nafeesa Inayatuallh Khan Khattak, Pir Shafqat Hussain Shah, Dr Mahreen Razzaq Bhutto, Syed Ali Raza Abidi, Maulana Agha Muhammad and senior officials.
MP Asad Umar, belonging to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was of the view that the Bill is only aimed at protecting breeders' rights but it has nothing for the protection of farmers. He suggested that some sections should be incorporated in the Bill to ensure farmers' rights. He said that section should be included in the Bill in connection with seed price control as the present section has nothing for price control.
Hayat said that there should be punishment for those involved in selling substandard and low quality seed in the Bill. "Due to low quality seed, farmers, especially cotton growers incurred losses worth billion of rupees", he deplored. Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Sikander Hayat Bosan speaking on the occasion said that heavy fine and punishment has been proposed in the seed amendment act for those who sell low quality or substandard seed to formers.
"The main objective of this legislation is to protect rights of farmers, to ensure high quality seed and planting material to the farmers", he said. The representatives of four provinces from agriculture departments and farmers also supported the Bill. The representatives from agriculture departments from four provinces suggested to establish an office on plant breeders rights; registered at provincial level.
Secretary National Food Security and Research Seerat Asghar said that plant breeder's rights are specific type of intellectual property rights granted to breeders of new varieties of plant. To comply with the Word Trade Organisation (WTO) and Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights agreement, the government of Pakistan has already introduced several laws in the field of intellectual property namely patents, trademarks, copyrights and industrial designs, he said. Under the said agreement, Pakistan is also required to provide intellectual property rights to the breeders of new plants varieties, he said.
He said that the bill is mandatory to make provisions for the development of the breeding of new plant varieties and protection of the breeders' rights of such varieties provides exemptions to them. The objectives of the Bill include encouraging plant breeders, seed organisations of both in public and private sector to invest in research and plant breeding, development of superior varieties of field, vegetables and ornamental crops, facilitate in access to protect foreign varieties and new technologies.
The other objectives of the Bill include creating healthy competition for variety development among public and private sector organisations, facilitation in generating revenues for research institute and financial incentives for plan breeders and effectively controlling menace of counterfeiting in the seed sector for betterment of farmer community and food security in the country.
The committee also took up "The Pakistan International Airlines Corporation (Conversion) Bill, 2015, but MNA Asad Umer pointed out that a special parliamentary committee has already been set up to examine the Bill and therefore it may be deferred till the outcome of the said special committee. The committee members agreed on Asad's suggestion and deferred the Bill till its next meeting. The committee also deferred the Special Economic Zones (Amendment) 2015 till its next meeting.
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