PepsiCo Withdraws Legal Case Against Gujarat Farmers

Under  pressure global food and beverages giant PepsiCo has withdrawn the case it filed against nine Gujarat farmers for growing a potato variety which it claimed was its registered product.

"To safeguard the larger interest of farmers, PepsiCo India was compelled to take judicial recourse to protect its registered variety. PepsiCo from the very start had also offered an amicable settlement to farmers. After discussions with the government, the company has agreed to withdraw cases against farmers...," the company said in a statement.

PepsiCo had sued the nine farmers of Sabarkantha and Aravalli districts of north Gujarat for allegedly growing the FL2027 or FC5 variety of potatoes for which it has claimed Plant Variety Protection (PVP) rights.

It held that it obtained PVP rights over the potato variety under the Protection of Plant Variety and Farmers Right (PPVFR) Act, 2001 and that the farmers were violating its rights over the seed variety.