A Comparative Analysis of Farmers Rights under Ethiopian and Indian Law

Mohammed Nure Gobena, D. Surya Prakasa Rao

Abstract: The protection of farmers rights in international agricultural laws is based on the traditional roles which farmers have played and continuous to play in the conservation, improvement and making available of plant genetic resources. In view of the enormous roles they have, farmers rights have been recognized under different international conventions such as the international convention on the protection of new varieties of plants/ the UPOV/, the international treaty on plant genetic resources for food and agriculture and other Food and Agricultural Organizations /FAO/ Resolutions. India has also incorporated in the course of developing a sui generis system of plant variety protection, farmers rights in the same bill and on equal state as plant breeders rights. Farmers Rights are also incorporated in the Ethiopian Plant Breeders Rights Proclamation. This study is aimed at making a comparative analysis of the Indian and Ethiopian plant variety protection regimes, particularly the Extent to which farmers rights are granted sufficient protections in both legal systems.

Keywords: Farmers' Rights, Intellectual Property Right, Breeders' Rights