The All India Kisan Sabha demands urgent intervention of Central Government to protect potato farmers in Gujarat Calls for boycott of Lays and other potato products of PepsiCo till the cases against farmers are withdrawn

AlKS demands urgent intervention of Central Government to protect the interests of potato farmers in Gujarat who were unethically implicated in cases by the Multinational Company PepsiCo.

Nine Gujarati small farmers were asked to pay Rs 1.05 crore each for cultivating a variety of potato by PepsiCo and the case is going on in Ahmedabad court. The case by PepsiCo is a violation of Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers Rights Act 2001 which clearly mention the right of the farmers to “save, use, sow, resow, exchange, share or sell his farm produce including seed of a variety” so long as he does not sell branded seed.

AIKS demands that PepsiCo must immediately withdraw the cases and apologise to the peasants of India.

AlKS along with other peasant organisations has already approached Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPV&FRA) asking for urgent intervention. This is a test case of the corporate exploitation of farmers under the WTO regime. Previous central governments led by both Congress(I) and BJP are responsible for completely surrendering the rights of the peasantry and the nation in favour of corporates.

Both the parties must clarify their stand in this case.

AIKS along with other peasant organisations and trade unions will mobilise the working people of the country to defeat the pro-corporate neoliberal policies. The future of the country will be determined through the growing resistance of the working class and peasantry against these corporates.

AIKS calls upon the people of the country to boycott ‘Lays’ and other potato products of PepsiCo till the cases against farmers are withdrawn.

Issued by

Hannan Mollah, General Secretary, All India Kisan Sabha
Ashok Dhawale, President, All India Kisan Sabha