Pepsico announces to withdraw cases against 4 Gujarat potato farmers

Gandhinagar: The Indian wing of the US based snacks and beverage company PepsiCo, PepsiCo India has decided to take back the case filed against four Gujarat potato farmers accused of infringing its patent of a particular variety of potato used in its popular Lay’s Chips.

According to the company spokesperson the company has taken the decision to withdraw the lawsuit filed in a commerce court in Ahmedabad last month after the assurance from the government about a long term amicable solution.

The company had sued the four farmers from Vadali Taluka in Sabarkantha district in North Gujarat and sought a compensation of Rs one crore from each one of them.

The company had during hearing of the matter in court here on April 26 had offered to stop pursuing the suit if they agreed to join the group of farmers doing potato farming for it. The court had fixed the next date of hearing on June 12.

Gujarat Deputy CM Nitin Patel had said that the state government would become a party and would, if needed, approach the high court in this matter. The government was with the farmers and was talking to them.

Pepsico’s Indian subsidiary had filed lawsuits against the farmers earlier this month for cultivating FC5 variety of potato for which it has obtained plant variety protection rights till 2031. The company had during hearing yesterday offered to drop the case provided the farmers join thousands of others in the company’s authorized cultivation program.

Notably farmer unions and activists were opposing Pepsico for filing the case. They have even alleged that the US company illegally using private detectives filmed the farmers for filing the case. The company has sought damages of $143,000 (Rs one crore) from each farmer.

The company had in the court said that it was compelled to take the judicial recourse as a last resort to safeguard the larger interest of thousands of farmers that are engaged with its collaborative potato farming program. It had said as part of its offer that it would not be seeking any compensation if the farmers agree join its cultivation program.

Notably, districts like Sabarkantha, Banaskantha and Aravalli in North Gujarat have become a hub of potato farming. Many of the farmers sell their potato to various chips and other snacks maker companies.

DeshGujarat