Country’s first gene bank for the fruit hopes to aid conservation

Trichy: India, the world's largest banana producer, grows tonnes of the crop every year, but many of its traditional varieties are slipping from sight, say scientists. A new gene bank in Trichy hopes to keep them safe.The Banana Field Gene Bank, established by ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana (NRCB) in Trichy under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Authority (PPV&FRA), aims to conserve varieties as well as develop new ones."The initiative is expected to encourage the setting up of more such gene banks, thereby strengthening efforts towards biodiversity conservation and the protection of registered plant varieties in India," says R Selvarajan, NRCB director.The facility will help maintain varieties developed by farmers from Trichy as well as from other districts including Erode, Theni, Coimbatore, Tuticorin, Tirunelveli, and from across the country. So far, 19 banana varieties have been conserved in the gene bank, including 11 farmers' varieties and 8 newly developed varieties from NRCB."PPV&FRA will recognize farmers as developers of specific banana varieties, grant them intellectual property rights, and award them for their contributions to agro-biodiversity conservation," says Trilochan Mahapatra, chairperson of PPV&FRA under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, who inaugurated the Banana Field Gene Bank at the Trichy institute.NRCB has registered 11 banana varieties with PPV&FRA, says Selvarajan. "These include traditional varieties such as the golden yellow karu vaalai from the Kolli Hills and the high-fibre chingan from Nagercoil, along with other varieties developed by NRCB."Since 2025, PPV&FRA has been recognizing farmers and joint farming communities by granting them intellectual property rights for their contributions to the development of new varieties and conservation of lesser-known ones across the country.The annual awards under the scheme include a cash prize of Rs.10 lakh for five farming communities, Rs. 1.5 lakh for 10 individual farmers, and Rs. 1 lakh along with recognition for 20 individual farmers.Over the past 20 years, about 10,500 crop varieties across the country have been registered for intellectual property rights. "Only 32 farmers from Tamil Nadu have registered their crops so far in 20 years. Most are not aware of it. We urge farmers from Trichy and the rest of the state to show better interest in the innovation, redevelopment, and conservation of banana varieties," says Dinesh Kumar Agarwal, PPV&FRA registrar-general.