Gujarat working for out-of-court settlement in PepsiCo cases

The Gujarat government is working for an out-of-court settlement of cases filed by PepsiCo against nine state farmers for growing a variety of potato "registered" by the food and beverages giant, Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel said Wednesday.

Nine farmers from Sabarkantha and Aravalli districts have been sued by PepsiCo in two separate courts for allegedly growing a variety of potatoes for which the company has claimed plant variety protection (PVP) rights and sought damages of as much as Rs 1 crore from each of them.

The American MNC has claimed the potato variety in question has been "registered" by it.

"The government is trying to ensure that the issue is resolved outside the court properly and as per the law, in a manner that it is helpful to farmers.

"The agriculture secretary and chief secretary have been informed regarding the same," Patel told reporters here.

PepsiCo had last week offered to settle lawsuits against the farmers, but only if they gave an ...