NBA benefit sharing distributes over ₹24 lakh to farmers and research institutions
New Delhi: National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) released more than ₹24 lakh under the NBA benefit sharing framework to farmers, research institutions and State Biodiversity Boards. The payment rewarded those who conserved biological resources that companies and research organisations later used for commercial purposes.
The release covered beneficiaries across 11 States, a Murrah buffalo farm in Haryana and three national research institutions. The authority said the payments reflected the principle of fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the commercial use of biological resources.
The Murrah buffalo farm received ₹4.30 lakh. ICAR–National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources, New Delhi, received ₹4.61 lakh. ICRISAT, Patancheru, received ₹5.36 lakh, while ICAR–National Bureau of Fish Genetic Resources, Lucknow, received ₹0.14 lakh.
NBA benefit sharing supports biodiversity conservation
The authority also transferred funds to State Biodiversity Boards. Maharashtra received ₹3.22 lakh, followed by Gujarat with ₹1.92 lakh and Telangana with ₹1.52 lakh. Karnataka, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Odisha and Tamil Nadu also received allocations.
The payments covered access to Murrah buffalo breeding stock, crop varieties, pearl millet, maize, fish cell cultures and cotton genetic resources. The NBA said research institutions would use their share for biodiversity conservation and scientific research.
The authority added that it routed payments to individual farmers and breeders through the respective State Biodiversity Boards. It also distributed benefits from cotton genetic resources among 11 cotton-growing States.
The latest release increased the total Access and Benefit Sharing disbursement by the NBA to around ₹153 crore. The authority said the programme strengthens biodiversity conservation, scientific research, biological collections and capacity building while ensuring conservers receive a fair share of commercial benefits.
