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Indian farmers’ organisations, civil society groups, and leading agricultural scientists are calling on the Government of India to oppose the proposed expansion of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA) at the upcoming GB-11 meeting in Lima, Peru (November 2025). The key concern is the plan to widen the Multilateral System (MLS) from its current 64 crops to almost all plant genetic resources, allowing only a few exemptions through a limited “negative list”. Farmer groups warn that this change could give global seed companies unrestricted access to India’s rich seed diversity, undermining national sovereignty, violating the Biological Diversity Act (2002) and the Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act (2001), and threatening farmers’ seed rights. They dispute government claims that India can selectively share seeds or that expansion is necessary to access crops like soybean or tomato. Evidence shows India has already placed over 4 lakh seed samples — including farmers’ varieties — in the MLS, and possesses abundant diversity in the crops cited as justification. Another major issue is lack of transparency in the MLS: no reliable tracking of seed access, confidentiality clauses in new SMTA rules, and unregulated Digital Sequence Information (DSI) that could lead to digital biopiracy. Genetic data derived from India’s seeds could be stored in private databases without oversight or benefit-sharing. Ahead of the Lima negotiations, farmers and experts demand that India firmly reject MLS expansion, insist on full transparency, oppose confidentiality provisions, regulate DSI, appoint a skilled negotiator from the Ministry of External Affairs, and prevent conflict-of-interest representation. They also urge India to align with Global South countries to improve governance before any expansion is considered. A national press briefing on 18 November 2025 will outline these concerns. These developments raise urgent questions: Will the expanded treaty expose all of India’s plant genetic resources globally? Will India forfeit its ability to oversee who uses its seeds? And what will this mean for farmers’ seed sovereignty and long-term national food security?. 👉 Join Our WhatsApp Channel- https://www.whatsapp.com/channel/0029VaaGAqPCxoAugdgpyH41 For any Query- Call Now: 📞 8988885050 or 8988886060 Email: 📩 info@vajiraoinstitute.com 🌐 Visit: www.vajiraoinstitute.com Registration is Now Open for both online and offline batches in 2025. Hurry up, limited seats. 📌 Follow us on Social Media: Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/vajiraoinstitute/ Twitter - https://x.com/vajiraoandreddy LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/school/vajirao-and-reddy-institute-delhi Pinterest - https://in.pinterest.com/vajiraoandreddyinstitute #ITPGRFA #PlantTreaty #SeedSovereignty #IndianFarmers #MLSExpansion #GeneticResources #Biopiracy #DigitalSequenceInformation #BiodiversityAct #FarmersRights #SeedDiversity #AgriculturePolicy #IndiaAgriculture #GlobalSouth #FoodSecurity #UPSCNotes #CurrentAffairsIndia #PolicyDebate #SustainableAgriculture #ProtectIndianSeeds