Dear Keith - Excellent article and have not posted awhile because of my new job. I will read and re-read this article. I hope our lawmakers take time to really study the issues. I studied Plants and Plant Genetics and Plant Taxonomy (Dendrology) as undergraduate. The issue of seeds and hybrid vigor was a great discussion in the early days (1970s). Things have changes so much since that time.
Best Regards, Phillip Wolfe --- Keith Addison <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > BIO-IPR docserver | http://www.grain.org/bio-ipr > ________________________________________________________ > > TITLE: The Indian Seed Act and Patent Act: Sowing > the Seeds of Dictatorship > AUTHOR: Vandana Shiva > PUBLICATION: Znet > DATE: 14 February 2005 > URL: > http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=56&ItemID=7249 > ________________________________________________________ > > THE INDIAN SEED ACT AND PATENT ACT: > SOWING THE SEEDS OF DICTATORSHIP > > by Vandana Shiva > > 14 February 2005 > > Since the beginning of farming, farmers have sown > seeds, harvested > crops, saved part of the harvest for seeds, > exchanged seeds with > neighbours. Every ritual in India involves seeds, > the very symbol of > life's renewal. > > In 2004 two laws have been proposed -- a seed Act > and a Patent > Ordinance which could forever destroy the > biodiversity of our seeds > and crops, and rob farmers of all freedoms, > establishing a seed > dictatorship. > > Eighty per cent of all seed in India is still saved > by farmers. > Farmers indigenous varieties are the basis of our > ecological and > food security. Coastal farmers have evolved salt > resistant > varieties. Bihar and Bengal farmers have evolved > flood resistant > varieties, farmers of Rajasthan and the semi-arid > Deccan have > evolved drought resistant varieties, Himalayan > farmers have evolved > frost resistant varieties. Pulses, millets, > oilseeds, rices, wheats, > vegetables provide the diverse basis of our health > and nutrition > security. This is the sector being targeted by the > Seed Act. These > seeds are indigenous farmers varieties of diverse > crops -- thousands > of rices, hundreds of wheats, oilseeds such as > linseed, sesame, > groundnut, coconut, pulses including gahat, > narrangi, rajma, urad, > moong, masur, tur, vegetables and fruits. The Seed > Act is designed > to "enclose" the free economy of farmers seed > varieties. Once farmers > seed supply is destroyed through compulsory > registration by making it > illegal to plant unlicensed varieties, farmers are > pushed into > dependency on corporate monopoly of patented seed. > The Seed Act is > therefore the handmaiden of the Patent Amendment > Acts which have > introduced patents on seed. > > New IPR laws are creating monopolies over seeds and > plant genetic > resources. Seed saving and seed exchange, basic > freedoms of farmers, > are being redefined. There are many examples of how > Seed Acts in > various countries and the introduction of IPRs > prevent farmers from > engaging in their own seed production. Josef > Albrecht, an organic > farmer in Germany, was not satisfied with the > commercially available > seed. He worked and developed his own ecological > varieties of wheat. > Ten other organic farmers from neighbouring > villages took his wheat > seeds. Albrecht was fined by his government because > he traded in > uncertified seed. He has challenged the penalty and > the Seed Act > because he feels restricted in freely exercising > his occupation as > an organic farmer by this law. > > In Scotland, there are a large number of farmers who > grow seed potato > and sell seed potato to other farmers. They could, > until the early > 1990s, freely sell the reproductive material to > other seed potato > growers, to merchants, or to farmers. In the 1990s, > holders of plant > breeders' rights started to issue notices to potato > growers through > the British Society of Plant Breeders and made > selling of seed > potato by farmers to other farmers illegal. Seed > potato growers had > to grow varieties under contract to the seed > industry, which > specified the price at which the contracting > company would take back > the crop and barred growers from selling the crop > to anyone. Soon, > the companies started to reduce the acreage and > prices. In 1994, > seed potato bought from Scottish farmers for £140 > was sold for more > than double that price to English farmers, whilst > the two sets of > farmers were prevented from dealing directly with > each other. Seed > potato growers signed a petition complaining about > the stranglehold > of a few companies acting as a 'cartel'. They also > started to sell > non-certified seed directly to English farmers. The > seed industry > claimed they were losing £4 million in seed sales > through the direct > sale of uncertified seed potato between farmers. In > February 1995, > the British Society for Plant Breeders decided to > proceed with a > high profile court case against a farmer from > Aberdeenshire. The > farmer was forced to pay £30,000 as compensation to > cover royalties > lost to the seed industry by direct farmer-to-farmer > exchange. > Existing United Kingdom and European Union laws thus > prevent farmers > from exchanging uncertified seed as well as > protected varieties. > > In the US as well, farmer-to-farmer exchange has > been made illegal. > Dennis and Becky Winterboer were farmers owning a > 500-acre farm in > Iowa. Since 1987, the Winterboers have derived a > sizeable portion of > their income from 'brown bagging' sales of their > crops to other > farmers to use as seed. A 'brown bag' sale occurs > when a farmer > plants seeds in his own field and then sells the > harvest as seed to > other farmers. Asgrow (a commercial company which > has plant variety > protection for its soybean seeds) filed suit > against the Winterboers > on the grounds that its property rights were being > violated. The > Winterboers argued that they had acted within the > law since > according to the Plant Variety Act farmers had the > right to sell > seed, provided both the farmer and seller were > farmers. > Subsequently, in 1994, the Plant Variety Act was > amended, and the > farmers' privilege to save and exchange seed was > amended, > establishing absolute monopoly of the seed industry > by making > farmer-to-farmer exchange and sales illegal. > > Similar laws are being introduced in India. The > entire country is > being taken for a ride with the introduction of the > Seed Act 2004 on > grounds that the Act is needed to guarantee seed > quality. However, > the Seed Act 1966 already performs the function of > seed testing and > seed certification. Twenty labs have been declared > as seed testing > labs under the 1966 Act in different States. Nine > seed corporations > have been identified as certification agencies. > > Under pressure from World Bank the Seed Policy of > 1988 started to > dismantle our robust public sector seed supply > system, which > accounted for 20% of the seeds farmers grow. Eighty > per cent of the > seed prior to globalisation is the farmers' own > varieties, === message truncated === __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail - now with 250MB free storage. 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