Daily Archives: December 29, 2015

‘WTO DECISION ON EXPORT SUBSIDY TO BENEFIT FARMERS’

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ISLAMABAD: The rich countries agreement to immediately eliminate agriculture export subsidies would provide a level-playing field to Pakistani exports, said Commerce Minister Khurram Dastgir Khan on Monday.

The WTO has not only agreed on elimination of agricultural export subsidies but also put more restrictions on Pakistan’s competitors, the minister said in a statement issued after attending the 10th WTO Ministerial in Nairobi, Kenya.

He said Nairobi decisions have helped improve prospects for Pakistani farmers and agriculture exports.

In cooperation with numerous allies, the minister said, Pakistan also successfully resisted a move by some large developing countries that could have hurt Pakistan’s agriculture trade through the said countries’ subsidised export of public stocks amassed in the name of food security.

Export subsidies of developed countries such as Australia, Canada, the European Union, Iceland, Israel, New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the United States shall be eliminated immediately.

By contrast, export subsidies’ entitlement of developing countries like Uruguay, Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia, Cyprus, Indonesia, Mexico, Panama, South Africa and Turkey, shall be eliminated by 2018.

Mr Dastgir said, “We resisted efforts by some large developing countries to prematurely amend WTO’s Agreement on Agriculture in the name of food security, which would allow them to distort trade in their favour by exporting public food stocks at subsidised prices.”
Pakistan also took the lead in welcoming Afghanistan’s formal accession to WTO, he added.

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2015

http://www.dawn.com/news/1227901/wto-decision-on-export-subsidy-to-benefit-farmers

PLANT BREEDERS RIGHTS BILL: FARMERS AND SEED COMPANIES TO DEBATE BILL,GIVE INPUT

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By Peer Muhammad

The proposed law is targeted at achieving several goals such as encouraging plant breeders and seed organisations in the public and private sectors to invest in research. PHOTO: FILE

ISLAMABAD: In a bid to establish a viable seed industry, the government last month introduced the Plant Breeders Rights Bill 2015 in the National Assembly. The bill is aimed at ensuring availability of high-quality seeds and planting material to farmers.

All major stakeholders will give their opinion and input for inclusion in the bill in a meeting next week at the Ministry of National Food Security and Research. Later, the lower house will refer the bill to the standing committee concerned for deliberations.

The National Assembly Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat after discussing the bill decided on Monday to invite all relevant stakeholders including farmers, private seed companies and provincial government officials to the next meeting at the food ministry.

Plant breeder rights are specific intellectual property rights that are provided to the breeders of new varieties of plants. Apart from this, in order to comply with the World Trade Organisation or trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS) agreement, the government has already introduced several other laws to protect intellectual property.

The proposed law is targeted at achieving several goals such as encouraging plant breeders and seed organisations in the public and private sectors to invest in research and plant breeding, develop superior varieties of field, vegetable and ornamental crops and facilitate access to protected foreign varieties and new technologies.

Additionally, the bill will encourage healthy competition in seed variety development among public and private sector organisations, facilitate in generating revenues for research institutes, provide financial incentives for plant breeders and effectively control counterfeiting for the betterment of farmer community and ensuring food security.

At present, many foreign companies are not coming to Pakistan to invest in this industry due to lack of protection for their products in the absence of an effective plant breeder rights law.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 29th, 2015

.http://tribune.com.pk/story/1017797/plant-breeders-rights-bill-farmers-and-seed-companies-to-debate-bill-give-input/