KVK Bongaigaon Holds Training on Farmers' Variety Registration and Plant Rights Protection

The Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), Bongaigaon, organised an awareness-cum-training programme on the registration of farmers' varieties and farmers' rights under the sponsorship of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority (PPV&FRA), bringing together 100 farmers from across the district to interact with agricultural scientists and officials.

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Dr Parag Saikia, Senior Scientist and Head of KVK Bongaigaon, opened the programme by outlining its objectives and stressing the importance of protecting traditional crop varieties and securing farmers' legal rights under the PPV&FRA Act.

The programme was chaired by Dr Kameswar Das, Chief Scientist of the AAU Zonal Research Station, Gossaigaon, who spoke on the importance of conserving farmers' varieties and explained the key provisions of the PPV&FRA Act.

Dr H Ojha, Associate Professor of SCS College of Agriculture, AAU Dhubri, walked farmers through the practical procedures for registering their varieties and the benefits they stand to gain from doing so. Dr Chayanika Lahkar, Scientist at the AAU Zonal Research Station, Gossaigaon, focused on the conservation of indigenous germplasm and its long-term agricultural significance.

District Agriculture Officer Pankaj Talukdar and SDAO of North Salmara, Abhayapuri, Kalyan Das encouraged farmers to document and formally register their locally preserved crop varieties before they are lost.

The programme was coordinated by KVK Bongaigaon staff members Dr Dwiban Pujari, Dr Sewali Saikia, Chayanika H Roy, and Jyotish Kr Sarma.