In what comes as a major twist of events, PepsiCo India Holdings Private Limited said it will offer an offer an out of court settlement for the Gujarat farmers it sued on the 26th of April.
During the hearing at the City Civil Court on the 26th, the counsel for PepsiCo said it would be willing to make an out of court settlement, with conditions.
A PepsiCo spokesperson said in a statement, “PepsiCo India has proposed to amicably settle with people who were unlawfully using seeds of its registered variety. PepsiCo has also proposed that they may become a part of its collaborative potato-farming programme. This programme gives them access to higher yields, enhanced quality, training in best-in-class practices and better prices. In case they do not wish to join this programme, they can simply sign an agreement and grow other available varieties of potatoes. The company 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 programme. PepsiCo India remains deeply committed to resolving the matter and ensuring adoption of best farming practices.”
The counsel further said, a decision for an out of court settlement will be made after consulting with the farmers.
PepsiCo filed a case against four farmers from Gujarat, saying they were illegally growing a variety of potatoes patented by PepsiCo. The Company said it was using these potatoes for producing Lay’s products, a brand under its name.
Called FL 2027 or FC5, PepsiCo said these farmers were growing and selling these potatoes without permission. The farmers, on their part, refuted the claim by saying the cost of producing these potatoes was almost double the cost of producing regular potatoes, with a requirement of more costly inputs in the form of fertilisers and pesticides. With all these additional costs, the farmers said producing these potatoes wouldn’t give them a profit, but would instead bankrupt them.
Reacting to the lawsuit filed by PepsiCo, the farmers’ group Rashtriya Kisan Parishad, led by Pravin Togadia, asked for strict action to be taken against the Company and also asked for an intervention from the Government of India.
The next hearing for this case is going to be held on the 12th of June by the same Court.
Stay tuned for more updates.
