PepsiCo still insists that they have developed the potato variety FC5
India has revoked a patent for a potato grown exclusively for PepsiCo Inc’s popular Lay’s fries, following an order issued by the Plant Variety Protection and Farmers’ Rights (PPVFR) agency. on Friday.
In 2019, PepsiCo sued some Indian farmers based in the western state of Gujarat for growing the FC5 variety, which has a lower moisture content needed to make snacks like potatoes. fried.
Withdrawing the lawsuit the same year, the New York-based company said it wanted to resolve the matter amicably.
Later, Kavitha Kuruganti, a farmer’s rights activist, petitioned the PPVFR Agency to revoke the intellectual protection granted to PepsiCo’s FC5 potato variety, saying that government regulations did not permit the granting of patents on seed varieties.
The PPVFR agency agreed with Kuruganti’s opinion that Pepsi could not claim a patent for a seed.
“The certificate of registration … is hereby revoked with immediate effect,” KV Prabhu, Chairman of the PPVFR Authority said in the order, according to Reuters.
A PepsiCo India spokesman said: “We are aware the order has been approved by the PPVFR Authority and is in the process of being reviewed.”
PepsiCo still claims that it developed the FC5 potato variety and registered the trait in 2016.
The company established its first potato chip factory in India in 1989, supplying FC5 varieties to a group of farmers, who in turn sold their products to the company at a fixed price.
Praising the PPVFR Authority ruling, potato farmers from Gujarat call it a victory for growers.
“This order is a huge victory for Indian farmers and reaffirms their right to cultivate any crop,” said Bipin Patel, one of the farmers based in Gujarat, sued by Pepsi in 2019. their.
