Some gardeners dream of flowers that will add beauty to the yard longer than just a handful of weeks out of the year. Fortunately, the majority of climates have flowers that have a short period of time during the year when they produce blooms in great abundance before they begin to die off as the plant begins to produce seeds.
The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Authority (PPVFRA) has formally published the registration of “Nagauri Paan Methi” (Paan Methi) as a Community Farmers’ Variety.
The registration appears in the Plant Variety Journal, February 2026 issue, conferring statutory ownership and legal rights upon the farming community of Nagaur district, Rajasthan.
This historic milestone represents the world’s first sui-generis intellectual property protection for Nagauri Paan Methi (Trigonella corniculata L.), recognizing the collective innovation, conservation, and custodianship of farmers who have nurtured this unique plant genetic resource for generations in the arid agro-ecology of Nagaur district of Rajasthan.
Registered under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001, the Community of Farmers of Nagaur represented by women farmer Geeta Devi, Pradhan, Panchayat Samiti Mundwa is now legally recognized as the rightful custodian and rights holder of Nagauri Paan Methi.
“The registration of ‘Nagauri Methi’ by the Plant Variety Authority is a historic recognition of the generations of hard work of Nagaur’s farmers. Under the name ‘Mundwa Pradhan’, the farming community has secured its intellectual property right effectively its patent,” said Bhagirath Choudhary of the South Asia Biotechnology Centre (SABC), in a statement.
At a time when the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is observing 2026 as the International Year of Women Farmers, the recognition of community rights by the PPVFRA for Nagauri Pan Methi marks a significant and historic achievement.
By granting rights to the farming community particularly women farmers, the initiative represents an important milestone toward strengthening women farmer empowerment and recognizing the vital role of farmers in conserving traditional crop varieties.
The registration delivers a triple dividend of benefits to farmers such as the protection against biopiracy and unauthorized commercial exploitation, including the sale of spurious and substandard seeds in the absence of a formal seed chain system. It also ensures entitlement to benefit sharing arising from research or commercial utilization of Nagauri Methi genetic resources.
The registration is a significant step toward securing a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for Nagauri Paan Methi, which can enhance market recognition and enable farmers to receive better prices for their produce.
With the support of the DBT Biotech Kisan Hub initiative and NABARD’s AEFC programme, Nagauri Paan Methi was earlier included in Schedule-I of the Spices Board of India, opening formal export pathways.
The long-standing misidentification under the name “Kasuri Methi” has now been corrected, restoring Nagauri Methi to its authentic identity in domestic and international markets, Choudhary added.
The registration appears in the Plant Variety Journal, February 2026 issue, conferring statutory ownership and legal rights upon the farming community of Nagaur district, Rajasthan.
This historic milestone represents the world’s first sui-generis intellectual property protection for Nagauri Paan Methi (Trigonella corniculata L.), recognizing the collective innovation, conservation, and custodianship of farmers who have nurtured this unique plant genetic resource for generations in the arid agro-ecology of Nagaur district of Rajasthan.
Registered under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act, 2001, the Community of Farmers of Nagaur represented by women farmer Geeta Devi, Pradhan, Panchayat Samiti Mundwa is now legally recognized as the rightful custodian and rights holder of Nagauri Paan Methi.
“The registration of ‘Nagauri Methi’ by the Plant Variety Authority is a historic recognition of the generations of hard work of Nagaur’s farmers. Under the name ‘Mundwa Pradhan’, the farming community has secured its intellectual property right effectively its patent,” said Bhagirath Choudhary of the South Asia Biotechnology Centre (SABC), in a statement.
At a time when the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is observing 2026 as the International Year of Women Farmers, the recognition of community rights by the PPVFRA for Nagauri Pan Methi marks a significant and historic achievement.
By granting rights to the farming community particularly women farmers, the initiative represents an important milestone toward strengthening women farmer empowerment and recognizing the vital role of farmers in conserving traditional crop varieties.
The registration delivers a triple dividend of benefits to farmers such as the protection against biopiracy and unauthorized commercial exploitation, including the sale of spurious and substandard seeds in the absence of a formal seed chain system. It also ensures entitlement to benefit sharing arising from research or commercial utilization of Nagauri Methi genetic resources.
The registration is a significant step toward securing a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for Nagauri Paan Methi, which can enhance market recognition and enable farmers to receive better prices for their produce.
With the support of the DBT Biotech Kisan Hub initiative and NABARD’s AEFC programme, Nagauri Paan Methi was earlier included in Schedule-I of the Spices Board of India, opening formal export pathways.
The long-standing misidentification under the name “Kasuri Methi” has now been corrected, restoring Nagauri Methi to its authentic identity in domestic and international markets, Choudhary added.
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