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Basmati issue illustrates inequity in WTO agreement

Experts in academic and political circles feel that amidst all the brouhaha over the Basmati patent and cases with US Federal Trade Commission the real issues of inequity in the WTO agreement have been lost.

They feel preventing encroachment of India's traditional medicinal plants and agricultural products including Basmati is possible only if they are accommodated as "Geographically Indicated ones" in WTO's Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights agreement.

"At present only wines and spirits like Champagne and Scotch are protected as Geographically Indicated products under the TRIPS agreement which needs to be renegotiated," Union Agriculture Minister, Ajit Singh said.

Agrees an NGO, Gene Campaign's President Suman Sahai who describing the recent patenting in US as an act of biopiracy said, "India must insist that protection under Article 22 and 23 is extended to products like rice and tea, otherwise chasing such patents will become a norm in future."

But Agricultural Task Force's Madan Diwan felt now it was extremely difficult to get the TRIPS agreement reopened, having failed to get rice and agri-products included in the original agreement in 1995 when WTO was an infant.

This, Sahai said, was not surprising as India does not have the back-up to buttress its case. No records exist listing the characteristics of our highly-prized Basmati strains.

Despite the patent being awarded to RiceTec in September 1997, a challenge was filed only in June 2000 and during the intervening period, no information was collected on Indian Basmati varieties.

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