Gujarat farmers heave a sigh of relief. With the help of the State government and social media, they forced multi-national’s PepsiCo India to withdraw lawsuits to the tune of Rs 1 crore in Ahmedabad court against potato farmers for infringing its patents.

Apparently, in April there was a dispute over farming a patented potato variety, ‘FC5’, and the MNC, maker of Lays chips, asked the nine local farmers to desist from growing the potato variety. 

But they refused, as they managed to get support of various farmer organisations, activists and even a campaign on social media asking for boycott of Lays chips.

Other than their victory, the battle say the farmers have ensured seed freedoms and that their harassment will not get repeated. 

However, the battle is half won as a long-term solution needs to be found on issues around seed protection, admit both the Government and PepsiCo. 
Sooner the better, as farmers’ plight seems never-ending thanks to stale promises, which are aplenty.