Krishan Bir Chaudharyश्री कृष्णबीर चौधरी

Journey

From sugarcane council to the nation’s MSP table

Documented milestones — institutions, Parliament, WTO, and recognition — since the early 1990s.

  1. Born. Born 12 March 1951.

  2. Chairman, Indian Sugarcane Development Council. Led sugarcane development under the Ministry of Agriculture; early advocacy for power alcohol / ethanol blending and international technical exchange.

  3. Chairman, State Farms Corporation of India. Headed the Government of India undertaking; founder member of SFAC; chaired AGRI EXPO ’95 Farmers’ Participation Committee; headed National Seeds Programme delegation to the Netherlands and Switzerland (Oct 1995).

  4. GOI–UNDP IPM Steering Committee. Member of the joint Integrated Pest Management project steering committee, Ministry of Agriculture.

  5. Krishi Ratan. Awarded Krishi Ratan by Shivaji Shikshan Sansthan, Amravati — conferred by Shri Sharad Pawar, then Chief Minister of Maharashtra.

  6. Director, NAFED. Served on the board of the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India.

  7. Wheat patent revoked at EPO. Jointly filed legal objection with Greenpeace (Germany) at the European Patent Office against an illegal Monsanto patent on an Indian wheat variety (27 Jan 2004). EPO revoked the patent on 23 Sept 2004. Also invited to meet the Prime Minister on farmers’ issues and pre-budget agriculture discussion (28 June 2004).

  8. WTO, FAO, Seeds Bill & NBPGR. WTO Hong Kong Ministerial (2005); FAO Asia-Pacific biotechnology dialogue, Bangkok; NBPGR lecture on Transgenics and Indian Agriculture; appeared as a witness before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture on The Seeds Bill, 2004 (as Executive Chairman, Bharat Krishak Samaj).

  9. Global farmer voice. Greenpeace seed-patenting meetings (Munich & Berlin); Terra Madre / Slow Food (Turin); WTO ministerials in Geneva, Bali, and Nairobi; Nourish Scotland World Food Day speaker (Glasgow, 2014); Penguin publishes Development Misplaced (2014).

  10. Parliamentary pesticide bills. Invited by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture for The Pesticide Management Bill 2008 and again for the 2020 Bill (5 Aug 2021) — suggestions appreciated and prioritised in the Committee Report.

  11. D.Litt. (Honoris Causa). Awarded Honorary Doctorate D.Litt. by the University of Central America, Bolivia (12 Feb 2021).

  12. BKS President & MSP Committee. President, Bharatiya Krishak Samaj; Member, High Level Committee on MSP, Natural Farming & Crop Diversification (GOI); Editor, Kisan Ki Awaaz; regular voice on national television and farmer policy debates.

Parliamentary Record

The Seeds Bill, 2004

In 2006, Dr. Krishan Bir Chaudhary appeared before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture as Executive Chairman of Bharat Krishak Samaj and presented his views on provisions affecting farmers and seed registration.

Chronology

  1. Bill introduced

    The Seeds Bill, 2004 entered the parliamentary process.

  2. Referred to Standing Committee

    The Bill was referred to the Standing Committee on Agriculture.

  3. Stakeholder hearings

    The Committee sought views from institutions, scientists, seed companies, farmer organisations, NGOs and other stakeholders.

  4. Witness appearance

    Dr. Krishan Bir Chaudhary — Executive Chairman, Bharat Krishak Samaj — appeared before the Committee and was invited to give his suggestions on The Seeds Bill, 2004.

  5. Documented intervention

    He expressed concern for farmers’ welfare and strongly argued that the latter portion of Clause 43(1) should be deleted so as to exempt farmers from registration of their seeds.

  6. Standing Committee Report

    The Twenty Second Report was presented. The Committee recommended that the legislation clearly exempt farmers’ varieties from compulsory registration.

What the parliamentary record says

Representation

Bharat Krishak Samaj was among the farmer organisations and stakeholders heard by the Standing Committee on Agriculture.

Intervention

As a witness, Dr. Chaudhary argued for exempting farmers from registration of their own seeds, focusing on the latter portion of Clause 43(1).

Committee record

Separately, the Standing Committee’s published report recommended explicit protection for farmers’ varieties in the registration provision.

Source note: The statements above distinguish Dr. Chaudhary’s recorded submission from the subsequent recommendations of the Parliamentary Standing Committee. They are based on the published Standing Committee Report.

Read the original Standing Committee Report (PDF)PRS Bill Track — The Seeds Bill, 2004

Special assignments

Selected parliamentary, WTO, FAO & global engagements

  • 5 Aug 2021Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture — Pesticide Management Bill 2020 (suggestions prioritised in report)
  • Dec 201510th WTO Ministerial Conference — Nairobi, Kenya
  • Oct 2014Speaker, Nourish Scotland Conference — World Food Day, Glasgow
  • Dec 20139th WTO Ministerial Conference — Bali, Indonesia
  • Dec 20118th WTO Ministerial Conference — Geneva
  • Oct 20104th World Food Communities Meeting — Terra Madre, Turin
  • Dec 20097th WTO Ministerial Conference — Geneva
  • Jan 2009Parliamentary Standing Committee — Pesticide Management Bill 2008
  • Mar 2007Speaker, Patenting of Seeds — Greenpeace International, Munich & Berlin
  • Feb 2007Planning Commission Steering Committee on Agriculture — XIth Plan strategic issues
  • Jul 2006Parliamentary Standing Committee on Agriculture — witness on The Seeds Bill, 2004 (Executive Chairman, Bharat Krishak Samaj)
  • Jan 2006NBPGR / ICAR — Transgenics and Indian Agriculture (national core group training)
  • Dec 20056th WTO Ministerial Conference — Hong Kong
  • Nov 2005FAO / APAARI / GFAR High Level Policy Dialogue on Biotechnology — Bangkok
  • Jan 2004Greenpeace joint objection — EPO; patent on Indian wheat revoked Sept 2004
  • Jun 2002World Food Summit: five years later — FAO, Rome
  • Oct 1995Headed GOI National Seeds Programme delegation — Netherlands & Switzerland