Date: Mon, 18 Jul 2005 17:30:39 +0100 (BST)
From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Subject: [New from GRAIN] Seedling seed laws special issue
New from GRAIN
July 2005
SPECIAL SEED LAW SEEDLING
Now available on the GRAIN website:
http://www.grain.org/seedling/?type=45
This Seedling takes us through a number of experiences and brutal
shifts going on with seed laws in different parts of the world
today, in the hope of raising further debate and new ideas about how
we can support truly autonomous and farmer-controlled seed supply
systems. As a complement, we have uploaded many seed laws from the
South to the GRAIN website. Visit http://www.grain.org/go/seedlaws.
EDITORIAL
SEED LAWS: IMPOSING AGRICULTURAL APARTHEID
http://www.grain.org/seedling/?id=337
Back in the 1960s "seed laws" referred to rules governing the
commercialisation of seeds: what materials could be sold on the
market under what conditions. Agencies like the FAO and the World
Bank played a very strong role in getting developing countries to
adopt these seed laws, the main idea, officially speaking, was to
ensure that only "good quality" planting materials reach farmers in
order to raise productivity and therefore feed growing populations.
However, the marketing rules, that the FAO and the World Bank
effectively pushed, came from Europe and North America, the very
place where the seed industry is in place. And the seed industry
produces seeds by specialised professionals and no longer on the
farm by farmers themselves. If we look at them today, seed laws are
all about repression. They're about what farmers can't do.
SEED LAWS: BIASES AND BOTTLENECKS by Niels Louwaars
http://www.grain.org/seedling/?id=339
Most countries of the world have some kind of seed law or seed
regulatory system in place. In the countries of the South, they are
largely patterned after the US or European models. Niels Louwaars, a
Dutch researcher with the Centre for Genetic Resources in the
Netherlands, has been studying and analysing seed laws in developing
countries since 1992. He gives some background on how these systems
work and highlights a few key issues related to diversity and small
farmers' needs.
SEED LAWS IN EUROPE: LOCKING FARMERS OUT by Guy Kastler
http://www.grain.org/seedling/?id=343
In Europe, the commercial seed supply system is highly organised and
controlled. European law on seed marketing has evolved over the
years to ensure that only uniform seeds for industrial farming can
be sold on the market, condemning farmers ' seeds and traditional
varieties to the black market if not complete illegality. Together
with strong intellectual property rules and the production of
hybrids, European seed laws lock farmers out of the seed system.
This article is an extract from a longer work by Guy Kastler.
Kastler is a French farmer involved with the Réseau Semences
Paysannes, the Confédération Paysanne and Nature et Progrès. The
article focuses on France which has taken the strictest approach to
implementing seed laws in Europe, and perhaps the world.
INTERVIEW - Antonio Onorati, Crocevia
In Italy, eight of the 18 administrative regions have adopted their
own laws on local genetic resources since 1997. They generally aim
to protect and promote traditional plant varieties and animal breeds
in local farming systems as a heritage of the region. Since 2000,
when the regional law of Latium was adopted, they also establish
collective rights over the local genetic heritage. Below is an
extract from an interview with Antonio Onorati, President of the
Italian development NGO Crocevia, who has been very much involved in
this movement.
For the full interview:
http://www.grain.org/seedling/?id=336
For a shortened interview which focuses on the experience with
collective rights in Italy: http://www.grain.org/seedling/?id=340
INDIA'S NEW SEED BILL by GRAIN
http://www.grain.org/seedling/?id=338
A new Indian Seeds Bill in 2004 has been circulated by the
government of India to overhaul the seed regulatory system. The
stated objective of the proposed law is to regulate the seed market
and ensure seeds of "quality". With the proposed changes the seed
law would be harmonised with other seed laws around the world and
ensure the Indian seed market is open to big business. This article
clearly demonstrates that the losers are the millions of Indian
small-scale farmers, whilst the winners are once again the
transnational corporations. Whilst there is enormous pressure on the
Indian government to embrace this new law, it is now time to ensure
that voices in protest are heard.
AFRICA'S SEEDS LAWS: RED CARPET FOR CORPORATIONS by GRAIN
http://www.grain.org/seedling/?id=342
Up until the 1990s, seed regulations in Africa were generally
organised around public seed programmes, with seed laws, where they
existed, mostly limited to import and export restrictions. There was
little coordination between countries, with regulations often
heavily influenced by the respective donors and very little
enforcement on the ground. Indeed, with few exceptions, the vast
majority of African farmers have hardly been affected by seed laws
or regulations. But out of the larger context of structural
adjustment programmes, trade liberalisation, and the consolidation
of a transnational seed industry desperate to expand markets,
processes have sprouted up over the past decade that are
fast-forwarding the implementation of industry-friendly regulations
and laws, with scant regard for the impacts on farmer seed systems.
LATIN AMERICA: PRIVATISING SEED LAWS by GRAIN
http://www.grain.org/seedling/?id=341
New seed laws are being introduced throughout Latin America. While
government intervention in market processes continues to decline in
the region, when it comes to seed legislation the states have been
laying down some strict laws. These laws vary considerably between
each country, but a universal theme that unites them is to provide
better protection of private seed varieties developed by companies
and sideline farmers' own seeds. In many cases, farmers' own seeds
are, or will become, illegal.
SEED LAWS UPLOADED TO GRAIN WEBSITE
http://www.grain.org/go/seedlaws
To complement this special issue of Seedling, many seed laws from
developing countries have been uploaded to the GRAIN website within
the BRL (Biodiversity Rights Legislation) section. We will continue
to update this section as new laws come to light. To see the latest
additions to the BRL, visit: http://www.grain.org/brl/?new
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