ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of National Food Security and Research (MNFSR) is in the process of establishing the Plant Breeders’ Rights Registry at the National Agricultural Research Centre (NARC) in Islamabad with a view to encourage the development of new plant varieties and protect the rights of the breeders.

The establishment of a viable seed industry being essential to the food security in Pakistan to ensure the availability of high quality seeds and planting materials to the farmers has been ensured by the Plant Breeders’ Rights Act of 2016 which has come into force.

The functions of the registry will be to facilitate protection of new plant varieties, issue certificates, ensure maintenance of the register of protected plant varieties and to promote the development of new varieties of plants and protect farmers and breeders’ rights.

The record of protected plant varieties will be kept and maintained by the Registry for Registration of all protected plant varieties in Pakistan.

For the purpose of storing the plant genetic material submitted by breeders for processing the case of protection of a plant variety, live samples of the seed and propagating material shall be deposited with the NARC’s Plant Genetic Resources Institute.

Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2017