PM urged to oppose plant treaty amendments threatening seed sovereignty

Bharat Beej Swaraj Manch (BBSM), a nationwide network of Indian seed savers and farmers, has written to the Prime Minister of India seeking urgent intervention against proposed amendments to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA), currently under negotiation at the 11th Session of the Governing Body in Lima, Peru, from November 24, 2025. The group has also issued an open letter to national leaders of the Global South, warning that the changes could cause grave harm to India’s national interests, seed sovereignty and farmers’ rights.

BBSM expressed alarm that the Treaty’s proposed amendments seek to vastly expand the Multi-Lateral System (MLS) of free global access to plant genetic resources from the existing list of 64 crops to include all plant varieties and their Digital Sequence Information (DSI). The organisation claims that such expansion would permanently bind signatory countries and provide multinational agribusiness corporations with unrestricted access to the genetic treasures of Global South nations, without mandatory benefit sharing or traceability.

The alliance said that more than 6.6 million transfers of seed varieties have already taken place under the MLS without adequate transparency, and that digitised genomic data derived from these seeds has been used to secure intellectual property rights internationally, without the free, prior and informed consent of farming communities who are the original custodians. BBSM described this as enabling digital bio-piracy, and accused four multinational seed companies of already monopolising over 54 per cent of global seed trade profits.

The letter also raises concern over proposed confidentiality clauses in the revised Standard Material Transfer Agreements, claiming they undermine transparency and accountability and violate the basic spirit of the Treaty. BBSM linked these issues to weaknesses within India’s domestic framework, including shortcomings in implementing the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, the proposed Seed Bill and the deregulation of genetically engineered seeds that may contaminate heritage varieties.

In their communication to the Prime Minister, BBSM urged the government to ensure that India does not endorse the amendments, warning they would become permanently binding and risk legitimising the bio-piracy of genetic heritage resources “far more precious for life than inert rare earths.” The organisation called for strong Global South collaboration to protect farmers’ rights, regulate DSI use, and create transparent systems to track the use of genetic resources obtained through the Treaty.

The letter was signed by BBSM convenor Jacob Nellithanam and core team members Bharat Mansata, Soumik Banerjee, Dr. Narasimha Reddy and Dr. Anupam Paul. They requested an early response from the Prime Minister.

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