Category Archives: Corporate Agriculture

Minister Steps In To Scrap Moot Called To Green-Signal Gm Corn In Haste

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Munawar Hasan

January 29, 2019

 

LAHORE: A high-level meeting that was slated to green-signal the cultivation of genetically modified (GM) corn in the country today (Tuesday) was ploughed down for now by the food minister himself at the eleventh hour in a rather dramatic way, The News has learnt

Pakistan Agriculture Research Council (PARC) had called a moot of Variety Evaluation Committee (VAC) for granting approval to commercial farming of genetically modified corn varieties, developed by multinational seed companies today (Tuesday) ‘hastily’.

A scene was created when Federal Minister for National Food Security Sahibzada Mehboob

Sultan abruptly intervened and asked for the cancellation of meeting that was convened by Dr Yusuf Zafar, chairman PARC.

Many participants were on their way to federal capital or had already reached there for attending the meeting, when they were informed via phone calls that the moot has been postponed until further notice.

Several key PARC officials were also not aware of the cancellation until late Monday evening, when they were contacted by The News.

Even, an official confirmed to The News the meeting was on after reconfirming it.

However, upon insisting that the meeting had been cancelled, the official again checked with the PARC high-ups and only then he affirmed the postponement of the VAC meeting.

The official however asserted that meeting was cancelled on the request of Faisalabad Agriculture University as its team was yet not ready to show up for the moot. There is no political or any other reason of shelving the meeting, he observed.

Certain stakeholders in seed business strongly opposed the introduction of genetically modified corn’s commercial cultivation being an edible crop.

“It is in the best interests of consumers and farmers that the country continued with the hybrid corn, which is abundantly being produced in the country as per requirements,” they said.

Moreover, they added that the investment in local hybrids developed by seed industry also required prioritising hybrids of maize.

The stakeholders said the introduction of genetically modified crops would not only increase the cost of farming for farmers due to high royalty fees, but would also lead to contamination of local germplasm, particularly in maize, which is a wind pollinated crop.

“This will also have severe adverse effect on the investment in locally developed hybrid varieties and discourage local production and research and development in seed business,” they warned.

On the other hand, the exports of maize-based value-added products from Pakistan could only be continued on sustained basis if the local growers stick with hybrid technology and refrain from allowing genetically modified corn seeds, sources said.

Most importantly, they added that it would lead to loss of export business as several countries/regions which import the value-added products based on maize and edible crops from Pakistan are anti-genetically modified crops such as European Union, Africa, Turkey, and Russia.

“Pakistan will not be able to export its products to these regions and countries, thus severely hampering exports,” they said.

More significantly, they said Pakistan’s per hectare production of corn was already showing upward trend and with five tons per hectare output of corn hybrids, Pakistan was already ahead of several countries that allowed genetically modified corn.

“We are sufficiently meeting our needs of corn through local production and there is no need to experiment with genetically modified organisms, which have several proven issues,” sources said.

genetically modified corn

PATENTING AGRICULTURE: CASE OF CHINESE HYBRID WHEAT SEEDS INTRODUCED UNDER CPEC

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 Askari Abbas

Seed patenting is one of the scourge of neoliberal agriculture, which began in the 1990s. It has been outraging peasants and farmers ever since due to its catastrophic political, socioeconomic impacts. This article is going to explore, analyze and critique hybrid wheat seed that is being introduced in Pakistan under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) agreement signed between the respective countries.

In 2014, the Beijing Engineering Research Center for Hybrid Wheat (BERCHW) gave a selected assortment of hybrid wheat to Pakistan, suitable for plantation in different part of the nation. The target was boosting crop production and to achieve food sufficiency.

BERCHW, besides extending specialized and scientific help to Pakistan, has additionally given free of cost hybrid wheat seeds adding up to 12,000 kg. Chinese agriculture researchers have also visited Pakistan to provide technical support.Hybrid wheat is aimed to be commercially produced over vast areas of Pakistan within two years. According to news sources, the Pakistani Embassy in Beijing is facilitating the research process between the two counterparts.Around 150 specialists have dedicated themselves to the research and development of hybrid wheat.

According to news agencies in Pakistan, the work on Hybrid wheat has been ongoing since 2012 where the China’s Hybrid Wheat Company and the Beijing Hybrid Wheat Engineering Technology Research Center have collaborated with Pakistan’s Guard Agricultural Company and Peshawar Agricultural University to demonstrate experiments on the cooperation of the second-generation hybrid wheat in Pakistan.Over 120 hybrids were planted in more than 230 experimental spots.

This agreement can also be verified from Sinochem’s press release of August 28 in 2012, which provides information on a cooperation agreement between Sinoseeds Hybrid Wheat Seed* (Beijing) Co., Ltd. (Sinoseeds Hybrid Wheat) and Guard Agricultural Research Services (Pvt.) Ltd. (Guard Agri). The press release highlights the agreement for the promotion and application of China’s two-line hybrid wheat in Pakistan.

*Sinoseeds Hybrid Wheat, a company jointly built by China National Seed Group Co., Ltd. (shortened to Sinoseeds, a subsidiary of Sinochem Group) and Beijing Engineering Research Center for Hybrid Wheat in October 2011, is the first professional hybrid wheat seed company in China.

Another press release from 2014 shows that CNSGC Hybrid Wheat Seed (Beijing) Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of China National Seed Group Co., Ltd. (China Seed) under Sinochem Group, signed a cooperative agreement on hybrid wheat industrialization with Guard Agricultural Research Services (Pvt.) Ltd on May 24th of 2018.

According to Sinochem, Hybrid Wheat Company was formed with the joint investment of China Seed and Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences (BAAFS) in 2011 to promote the industrialization of hybrid wheat technology and boost the selective breeding and popularization of fine hybrid wheat varieties.

Hybrid Wheat Piloted in Pakistan

An August 2018 report from an online Chinese news website Global Times shows that the Chinese are planning to cultivate their hybrid wheat along the Belt and Road route after successful trials in Pakistan.

Song Weibo, vice president of Sinochem Group Agriculture Division, China’s largest agricultural inputs company and integrated modern agricultural services operator, informed the Global Times that the company’s hybrid wheat has been harvested on a large scale in Pakistan, and has also gotten some exposure in Bangladesh and Uzbekistan.
According to the report, the company will continue to promote hybrid wheat in other Belt and Road countries and establish demonstration bases in Europe and North America.

It is clear that Sinochem is interested in opening a market for its hybrid wheat seed in Pakistan, as they have sent a number of experts to the country to work with local farmers. According to Song, around 150 experts have been sent to over 20 cities in Pakistan.

It is important to note that with the likely upcoming merger of Sinochem and ChemChina (another state owned chemical company that also acquisitioned Syngenta; a former Swiss agrochemical company that is also involved in hybrid wheat technology), China will largely emerge as a monopolist in hybrid wheat technology in upcoming years.

According to a report in China Daily the trial on hybrid wheat in Pakistan has been concluded and termed successful. The trials included tests on the hybrid varieties being carried out in 230 sites; spread over 2,000 hectares of experimental bases or local farm lands. This information was provided by the general manager Chen Zhaobao of CNSGC Hybrid Wheat Seed (Beijing) Co, a subsidiary of China National Seed Group Co under Sinochem Group Co that is responsible for the hybrid wheat promotion project in Pakistan.

Muhammad Arif, professor of agriculture at Peshawar Agricultural University whose involvement in the project can also be verified with a simple look on the project log page of his ResearchGate profile, has seemingly expressed his approval for the commercial introduction of Chinese hybrid wheat seeds in Pakistan

A glimpse at the hybrid wheat seed varieties that China wants to introduce in Pakistan and the Belt-Road initiative:

Source: picture taken from CNSGC products web page.

Further information about the project can be seen from a report by China Radio International on their website; (Please note that this information has been translated using Google translator).

According to China Radio International, the 2017- 2018 field trials were run by Peshawar Agricultural University. It seems part of the trials were carried out in a village Ruijji near Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The various institutions that seem to be involved in the research included Ministry of Science and Technology of China, the Ministry of Agriculture, Beijing Municipality, the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and the Pakistan Foundation Committee, the Beijing Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences/Beijing Hybrid Wheat Engineering Technology Research Center and the Sinochem Group’s subsidiary Sinoseeds Co., Ltd..

In 2018, China-Pakistan Hybrid Wheat Joint R&D Center was also built in Peshawar under China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) for the promotion of Beijing hybrid wheat in Pakistan.

It is quite unfortunate that Pakistani officials have highlighted certain features of Pakistan’s agriculture and farmers that could be construed as overlooking the hardships of the people, and essentially exploitative. For instance, it has been mentioned that,“Pakistani farmers can endure hardships, withstand high temperatures, and further that cheap labor and human resources provide an obvious advantage for Sinochem to run its hybrid wheat project in Pakistan.” Pakistan’s special geographical importance was also highlighted, keeping its trade closeness with Central Asia, Europe, Russia, China, and Africa in mind. Pakistan’s‘trade-friendly policies’ were also mentioned with emphasis laid on the possibility that China could produce and export from Pakistan to EU and the United States.

As Pakistan is a member of WTO, it has to act in accordance to all the rules and agreements that are part of WTO charter strictly with no questions asked. And as a result of this connection with the international trade governing body, an amendment was made in Pakistani Seed Act of 1976 in 2015.

Its key points are:

  • The providence of primary seed for the private sector (Pre-Basic Seed).
  • Laboratory for testing authentic seed for the private sector.
  • Registration of seed companies/dealers and production plants.
  • Imposing penalties if seed laws are violated.
  • Ban on unregistered and unapproved varieties.
  • Registration of organizations and individuals is now necessary for being part of the seed business.
  • Any individual including farmers are not allowed to sell nor store their seeds, nor are they allowed to transact or exchange it.
  • Farmers are not allowed to sell misbranded seeds, nor are they allowed to sell, store or exchange them, nor are they allowed to transact them in any way possible.
  • Full permission to grow genetically modified crops, especially cotton and maize.
  • The farmers have to pay fees for registering their varieties.

As it can be noted, this amendment was made with the protection of intellectual property in mind, to satisfy TRIPS the Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) agreement made under WTO that was made to facilitate private sector to gain control of natural resources worldwide through imposing intellectual property rights laws on them. There is no doubt that the Amended Seed Act has taken away farmers rights and given domination to corporations. It needs to be stated that this law has been met with severe opposition and resistance from the farming organization nationwide.

Now with China’s unopposed entry in the Pakistani agricultural market, combined with this new Seed Act of 2015, standard free market policies being accepted by the Pakistani government under advanced capitalist states, as well as the CPEC influence, no doubt the Chinese are being given an easy free entry into Pakistani agriculture, which will have enormous repercussions for the small farmers, as well as the country’s sovereignty.

And with this newfound freedom what is the first thing that Chinese do? They go after our staple food crop that is wheat. The perplexing thing is that all these changes made in wheat are slowly turning it into an unhealthy food crop. Putting the health aspect aside, the socioeconomic aspect of it is damning itself. Now the Chinese will have full control of the wheat that is consumed in and exported out of Pakistan. These new Chinese hybridized varieties will come accompanied with Sinochem’s fertilizers and pesticides, putting more economic pressure on local peasants and farmers and also unnecessarily increasing Pakistani wheat production value.

The way things are going; with Pakistanis allowing foreign corporate companies and foreign organizations to pry into its own agricultural practices and taking over its natural food sources, the history is repeating itself. The people of this region have already experienced the taste of what western colonialism is like. Now the time has come that the Pakistani people prepare themselves for a new form of colonization, i.e. Chinese neocolonialism!!

No doubt we face a behemoth of a typhoon!

WORLD FOODLESS DAY, OCTOBER 16, 2018

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PRESS RELEASE

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) celebrates the World Food Day on October 16 every year. This year FAOs slogan is “A#ZeroHunger World by 2030 is possible.” But across the world, small and landless farmers, labour organizations commemorate the day as “World Hunger Day”. Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT), Roots for Equity, PAN AP, and various organizations have campaigned from October 1-16 to highlight the critical importance of agro-ecology and the important character of youth in promoting agroecology, and have used the theme “ Youth on the March: Building Global Community for Agroecology and Food Sovereignty” for the World Hunger Day.

To protest the rising hunger across the globe, and in Pakistan, PKMT and Roots for Equity took out a rally in Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkwa which included small and landless farmers from many KPK districts.

According to the Altaf Hussain, National Coordinator, PKMT 60% of Pakistani population is facing food insecurity.  A very large majority of the population was living under poverty, and this is the basic reason that 80% children are deprived of adequate nutrition, 44% children were suffering from malnourishment. No doubt hunger can be eradicated from Pakistan but in the current state of industrial agricultural production, where huge transnational corporations with their toxic hybrid, genetically engineered technology have got their tentacles in the system, it is NOT possible. These corporations are earning super-profits through the exploitation of small and landless farmers and this is the most critical factor in the escalating hunger, malnutrition and poverty. In Pakistan, in spite of surplus production of wheat and rice, feudalism, corporate agriculture and international trade agreements that such a large majority of the people, especially women and children suffer from hunger. Only by taking away the control of feudal lords, and corporations from our lands, our food systems and markets can eliminate hunger.

Fayaz Ahmed, Provincial Coordinator, KPK stated that the promotion of foreign investments, and an export-oriented economy, and vast infrastructural projects are resulting in the eviction of small and landless farmers; this in the face of the fact that only 11 percent of big landlords own 45% of agricultural land. The expansion of the Hattar Industrial Zone is a living example for which not only small farmers were evicted but even the labor force employed in the industries suffers from very low wages and lack of basic human rights.

Mohammad Iqbal, District Coordinator Haripur stated that the governments willingness to allow global capitalist powers control over our markets, promotion of unsustainable agriculture practices has resulted in land and food production to be a source of profit-making. All this has not only exacerbated hunger among rural communities but has also caused environmental pollution especially food pollution, and climate change. In order to get rid of poverty, hunger and joblessness, equitable land distribution must be carried out, for attaining food security and food sovereignty the control of corporations, especially agro-chemical corporations must be eliminated. All this is only possible if the farmers including women are central to decision making in rural economy, and of course agroecology is made the basis for healthy, sustainable food production systems. Only these measures will guarantee a sustainable society.

The demands put forward by PKMT and Roots for Equity include.

Released by: Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek & Roots for Equity

Authorities get another chance to respond to plea against amended seed act

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Justice Sayyed Mazhar Ali Akbar Naqvi of Lahore High Court on Friday expressed serious concerns over the failure of the authorities concerned to submit a reply on a petition challenging the Pakistan (Amended) Seed Act 2015.

The judge remarked, “It is shocking that local farmers’ future has been put in jeopardy,” adding that the amended law could endanger national food security by making the country dependant on multinationals for genetically-modified seeds.

The judge warned that the plant breeder’s rights registry would be restrained from operating if a response was not submitted in the matter by June 22.

At an earlier hearing, the court had directed the Punjab government to produce the resolution passed by the provincial assembly calling upon the Centre to pass a plant breeders’ rights bill. Notices were issued to the federal government in which it was asked to file para-wise comments to the petition filed by Human Voice, an non-government organisation, challenging the Pakistan Amended Seed Act, 2015 for being in violation of farmers’ fundamental rights and passed at the behest of US-based multinational seed manufacturing companies.

The orders were not complied with as neither the copy of the resolution nor parawise comments were submitted till Friday.

Petitioner’s counsel Sheraz Zaka had submitted that the impugned seed act was passed without the approval of the cabinet, and under article 144 of the Constitution the amendment made in seed act could not have been passed by the federal legislature as it is a provincial subject. He argued that the impugned act would deprive farmers of their traditional farming practices and was meant to accommodate the demands of multinational corporations which were harmful for the environment, anti-competitive, and a threat for the national economy.

Advocate Zaka contended that the Parliament could not pass a bill of such a nature in the absence of resolutions passed by provincial legislatures. He submitted that the scope of his petition was wide and required the attention of the court, keeping into consideration the fact that the federal government had ratified the convention on biological diversity but still not taken any measures to protect traditional breeding practices.

During earlier hearings, Zaka had said that under the impugned law, farmers would be fined and imprisoned for preserving, selling and exchanging seeds, a centuries-old tradition. He said that it would adversely affect the agriculture sector of the country.

Zaka emphasised that the impugned law had made it mandatory for farmers to buy seeds from a licensed company or its agent and they had to do so every time they cultivate a new crop. He stated that this restriction would make farmers dependent on companies.

He said that it would be a huge injustice towards the millions of small and landless farmers whose food insecurity would be aggravated. He submitted that conditions required under the impugned Act would lead to increase in prices of agricultural products and a food security threat in future was likely to happen.

The counsel said that the experience of growing genetically modified (GM) crops, like Bt cotton, had been disastrous in the country but the government still intended to promote GM crops through the law. He added that many European countries had already banned genetically modified crops because of their adverse impact on environment and Pakistan should follow suit.

Zaka requested the court to set aside the amended Seed Act for being unconstitutional.

Link: https://dailytimes.com.pk/251095/authorities-get-another-chance-to-respond-to-plea-against-amended-seed-act/

THREAT TO STOP SELLING BT COTTON SEEDS IRRESPONSIBLE: MAHYCO MONSANTO

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17 January 2017

The war of words between Mahyco Monsanto Biotech (India) Private Limited (MMBL) and the National Seed Association of India (NSAI) continues with MMBL issuing a rebuttal to the allegation made by the latter on the failure of Bollgard II and its consequences.

MMBL has contended that it is not responsible for development of resistance in pink bollworm and its acceleration or the consequences (compensation claims). It blamed the NSAI for threatening to stop sales of Bt cotton seeds from this month.

“Your threat to advise your members to stop selling Bt cotton seeds from January 2018 is irresponsible and in complete disregard of the interests of farmers,” Satyender Singh, Director of MMBL, said in the letter.

The five-page letter gave a point-by-point rebuttal to NSAI’s allegations against Monsanto and MMBL on a host of issues that included payment of compensations and efficacy of Bollgard II.

MMBL alleged that the NSAI was trying to deflect responsibilities on development of resistance caused by the failure of its member companies in propagating prescribed practices.

Reiterating that resistance was a natural and evolutionary adaptation of insects and pests to stress factors, he said propagation and adoption of recommended practices was a combined responsibility of all stakeholders in cotton production and not just that of the technology provider.

Rejecting the claim that it kept mum on the growing resistance, he said both the regulator and the seed firms had been informed about the incidence.

The firm, which sub-licences it to Indian seed companies, also wrote to Radha Mohan Singh, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, explaining to him about the fallacies in the NSAI allegations.

The NSAI reiterated its threat on stoppage of seed sales. “We make it clear that until and unless there is clarity on the role and responsibility, there is no question of selling Bt cotton seeds,” Kalyan B Goswami, Director-General of NSAI, said.

“You accept that resistance is natural and evolutionary but go on charging trait value for the technology despite its failure,” he argued.

He said that the resistance was not restricted to only a few areas as claimed by the firm. “The regulatory authorities have confirmed that BGII failure was observed in more than 90 per cent of the cotton growing area in the country,” he pointed out.

http://m.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/agri-business/threat-to-stop-selling-bt-cotton-seeds-irresponsible-mahyco-monsanto/article10038022.ece

FROM BRUSSELS TO ARKANSAS, A TOUGH WEEK FOR MONSANTO

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International New York Times, Nov. 9, 2017

Danny Hakim

Opposition from France and Italy doomed a European Union vote on Thursday to reauthorize the world’s most popular weedkiller, glyphosate, a decision that came hours after Arkansas regulators moved to ban an alternative weedkiller for much of 2018.

The decisions are a double blow to the agrochemical industry and particularly to the chemicals giant Monsanto. An appeals committee of European officials will convene this month, though, to weigh again whether to continue to allow glyphosate just weeks before its registration expires. The chemical is the main ingredient in Roundup, one of Monsanto’s flagships, but its patent has ended and it is now made by much of the industry.

The effort to reauthorize the weedkiller failed to receive a majority even though regulators were seeking only a five-year reauthorization instead of the typical 15, amid controversy and disputes about cancer risk that have made glyphosate’s future in Europe uncertain. Its approval in the region expires in mid-December.

The vote on Thursday, which was weighted based on the population of the various European Union member states, was nearly 37 percent in favor of renewing the chemical and a little over 32 percent against, with nearly 31 percent abstaining. France and Italy opposed the renewal; Spain was in favor, along with Britain, which is due to leave the union. Germany and Poland abstained.

In Arkansas, regulators voted on Wednesday to ban the use of another major weedkiller, dicamba, for more than six months of next year, including the summer, amid widespread reports of crop damage. Dicamba has been around for decades, but new versions have been developed by Monsanto, BASF and DuPont as an alternative to Roundup. The regulatory recommendation is now being sent to a state legislative panel.

Taken together, the decisions reflect an increasing political resistance to pesticides in Europe and parts of the United States, as well as the specific shortcomings of dicamba, whose tendency to drift has given pause even to the Trump administration’s Environmental Protection Agency, which has otherwise largely acceded to the wishes of the chemical industry. Dicamba has damaged more than 3.6 million acres of soybean crops in 25 states, roughly 4 percent of all soybeans planted this year in the United States.

In a statement, an industry trade group known as the Glyphosate Task Force, which includes Monsanto and Syngenta, called the European decision “discriminatory and unacceptable,” adding that “delays of this nature which are evident during the final stages of the process simply expose acute politicization of the regulatory procedure.”

But Nicolas Hulot, the French environment minister, tweeted after the vote: “Thanks to our opposition glyphosate is not reauthorized for 10 years, nor 5 years. The effort to get out of pesticides continues!”

Regarding the decision in Arkansas, Scott Partridge, vice president of global strategy for Monsanto, said in a statement on Wednesday that the company was disappointed that state regulators “voted to put Arkansas farmers at a disadvantage, but we’ll continue to follow the process to help those growers have greater choice next season.”

The European Union’s decision followed years of haggling and delay. Policymakers largely brushed aside the opinions of two of the bloc’s science agencies, which had found that glyphosate was not a carcinogen.

But glyphosate, which accounts for about a quarter of the global market, has been plunged into controversy since the International Agency for Research on Cancer, part of the World Health Organization, declared it a probable carcinogen in 2015. The finding, which has been disputed by a number of other government agencies, has made the weedkiller a magnet for controversy.

Glyphosate is also at the center of a federal case in the United States over claims that it causes cancer, and California has declared it a carcinogen, following in the footsteps of the international cancer agency.

Use of glyphosate has soared in the United States and other parts of the world over the last two decades, after Monsanto introduced crops that were genetically engineered to be resistant to the chemical. That meant key crops like corn, soybeans and cotton could be sprayed with the herbicide after they emerged from the ground. During that time, the presence of glyphosate in human urine increased 500 percent, according to a recent study by the University of California San Diego School of Medicine and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Europe, by contrast, has largely shunned genetically modified crops, but glyphosate is still the Continent’s biggest seller. In Britain and Germany, it is used on as much as 40 percent of agricultural land, according to an industry trade group.

But political sentiment in Europe has been turning against Monsanto, the American company that has become the face of the agrochemical industry, even though it is in the process of being acquired by Bayer, a German chemicals giant. The European Parliament voted last month to ban glyphosate, a step that was nonbinding. And in September, the Parliament made Monsanto the first company to be barred from lobbying the chamber.

The science around glyphosate has become a muddle of allegations and counterallegations. Environmental activists have accused national regulators of hewing too closely to Monsanto’s wishes, while the industry has been exasperated that European politicians are overruling their science agencies. The litigation in the United States has only muddied the waters further, with evidence emerging that Monsanto ghostwrote both journalism and academic work, eroding trust in a company that had long been a lightning rod.

But the latest major study, published Thursday by researchers at the National Institutes of Health, “observed no associations between glyphosate use and overall cancer risk.”

With dicamba, the industry received warnings years ago that the weedkiller was prone to drifting on crops and vegetation it was not intended to treat. Dicamba is supposed to be used with soybeans that are genetically modified to resist its effects.

Steve Smith, a member of an advisory panel set up by Monsanto, warned as far back as 2010 that “widespread use of dicamba is incompatible with Midwestern agriculture,” according to congressional testimony he gave that year. “Even the best, the most conscientious farmers cannot control where this weedkiller will end up.”

Monsanto has argued that drift is occurring when dicamba is sprayed improperly or when unapproved versions are used. Many farmers and weed scientists say it can also turn into a gas and drift in certain weather conditions.

Environmentalists called for federal action by the Environmental Protection Agency on dicamba.

“It’s long past time the agency heed independent science and protect farmers by prohibiting the use of this hazardous weedkiller,” said Bill Freese, a science policy analyst at the Center for Food Safety.

 

Celebrating 10th Anniversary of PKMT

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Fighting Patriarchy- women’s voices. Rural Women’s Day, October 15, 2017

Food Sovereignty: A Comprehensive Ideology to overcome Hunger and Malnourishment

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek Celebrating Its 10th Anniversary – Lok Virsa, October 16, 2017

Resisting Feudalism: a theater by PKMT activists, at a Mela celebrating 10th Anniversary of PKMT

Resisting Corporate Seeds, at a Mela celebrating 10th Anniversary of PKMT

 

 

 

 

 

 

PKMT activists at a Mela to mark 10 years of PKMT’s struggle

Local and Indigenous seeds = grown through agroecological methods, PKMT Mela October 16, 2017

Promoting desi foods – PKMT Mela, October 16, 2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

PKMT leaders during Press Conference at National Press Club, Islamabad

WORLD FOODLESS DAY, OCTOBER 16, 2017

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Press Release

The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World Report 2017 jointly released by FAO and other intergovernmental agencies have highlighted some shocking information: people suffering from hunger and malnourishment have risen from 777 million in 2015 to 815 million in 2016, of which a vast majority (520 million) live in Asia. Globally, it has also been made evident that conflict and climate change has a vastly negative impact on food security especially for rural communities, and is also a major reason for migration. This is the context of FAO ‘celebrating’ the World Food Day under the theme of “Change the future of migration. Invest in food security and rural development.” In short, millions of people from third world countries are fleeing their homes due to various factors including conflict, hunger, poverty, and a variety of climate change impacts such as floods, droughts, among others. Pakistan, in 2017 continues to be ranked as one of the least peaceful countries: among peaceful countries it ranks 152 of 166 counties.

To mark the ever-rising number of hungry in a country which has surplus wheat rotting in state warehouses, millions of Pakistanis are being displaced by state-sponsored militarism and hence losing land, livelihood, livestock – all that are essential for maintaining food and nutrition. Statistics shout the facts: Pakistan ranks 77 in109 countries for food security indicators; of every tenth person, six suffer from food insecurity; almost 44% children suffer from malnutrition where as 50% of women suffer from anemia.

These diabolical figures are a result of extreme oppression and inequity in the country; the most critical being inequitable land distribution. Forty-five percent of land is held by only 11% of big landlords. Millions of small and landless farmers are forced to produce under the exploitative, oppressive conditions of semi-feudalism, and now mounting hegemony of powerful agro-chemical corporations under the capitalist framework of neoliberalism have been allowed to renew colonization of our lands and resources. The multiple impacts of land and resource hegemony, conflict, climate change and destruction of our agricultural lands by intense use of dangerous chemical fertilizers has left the rural communities and urban poor suffering from the vast indignities of hunger and poverty. The concentration of power by the agri-business giants under the auspicious of World Trade Organisation (WTO) and its trade liberalization agreements, especially TRIPs is one of the major structural causes of rising world hunger.

Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT) and Roots for Equity held a press conference and a protest at the Islamabad Press Conference, October 16, 2017 to register their protest against the ongoing heinous human rights violations being inflicted through concentrated wealth and control over resources especially land by the feudal and corporate elite in the country. PKMT leaders Altaf Hussain, Tariq Mehmood Pathani, and Azra Talat Sayeed spoke at the occasion.

PKMT calls out to all peoples organizations to increase the struggle for food sovereignty as the way forward to end the joint crippling impacts of semi-feudal and neoliberal policies being employed to plunder the land and productive resources of our people. PKMT demands a food and agriculture policy based on food sovereignty framework with equitable distribution of land, ensuring women’s farmers right to land. There cannot be just and lasting peace, sustainable development and prosperity without a people-led development agenda.

Released by: Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT)

Urdu Press Release

Press Release World Foodless Day 2017 urdu

INDIAN STATE TO INSPECT CULTIVATION OF UNAPPROVED MONSANTO GM COTTON

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Dawn, October 7th, 2017

New Delhi: A top Indian cotton-producing state has ordered an inspection of fields planted with an unapproved variety of genetically modified seeds developed by Monsanto, which is fighting to retain its market in the world’s biggest grower of the fibre.

Farmers in Andhra Pradesh have planted 15 per cent of the cotton area in the state with Bollgard II Roundup Ready Flex (RRF), prompting the local government on Friday to form a panel of officials to “inspect the fields of farmers growing RRF”.

The order, issued by senior Andhra Pradesh official B Rajasekhar, did not say how the farmers accessed the unapproved variety of genetically modified (GM) cotton. Calls to his office went unanswered.

“It’s a matter of grave concern that some seed companies, while suppressing their real intent of profiteering, are attempting to illegally incorporate unauthorised and unapproved herbicide-tolerant technologies into their seeds,” a Monsanto spokesman said.

“Commercial release of GM technologies in India without the requisite regulatory approvals may not only pose tremendous risks for the country’s farmers, it may also be in violation of applicable laws of the land.” The spokesman did not identify the local companies.

Bollgard II RRF is a proprietary technology owned by Monsanto, the world’s biggest seed maker, which last year withdrew its application seeking approval from the regulator, Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), for this variety.

The withdrawal was seen as a major escalation in a long-running dispute between the Indian government and Monsanto, which is also locked in a bitter battle with Andhra Pradesh-based Nuziveedu Seeds Ltd.

Monsanto applied for GEAC approval of Bollgard II RRF, known for its herbicide-tolerant properties, in 2007. When the US company withdrew the application last year, it was in the final stages of a lengthy process that included years of field trials.

The illegal sale of the seeds violates India’s environmental protection rules, said C D Mayee, president of the South Asia Biotech Centre, a not-for-profit scientific society.

Mayee, a former government scientist, estimated that 3.5 million packets of such seeds were sold this season.

“Over the years, we have kept the regulators and key stakeholders apprised of the illegal usage of unapproved technology,” the Monsanto spokesman said.

“Even as late as August 2017, we have sought their intervention on the gross misuse of patented and regulated technologies which may pose numerous other challenges to Indias cotton ecosystem.”

A spokesman for the federal environment ministry was not immediately available for comment.

New Delhi approved the first GM cotton seed trait in 2003 and an upgraded variety in 2006, helping transform India into the world’s top producer and second-largest exporter of the fibre.

https://www.dawn.com/news/1362189/indian-state-to-inspect-cultivation-of-unapproved-monsanto-gm-cotton

PKMT demands pro-farmers policies

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Press Release:

July 16, 2017

The Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT) Khyberpakhun Khua chapter holds its 5th provincial assembly on July 16, 2017 in Bagh Darai, lower dir.  All of the PKMT members for KPK province participated in large numbers.

Altaf Hussain, PKMT National Coordinator spoke on water issues and market rate for the grower. He stress that due to the climate change there are less rain or more rains hence most of the rainfed land had is being distorting. The government is also not interested in solving the issue since there is no electrify for tube wells. In these critical circumstances whatever production that farmer got could not get good rate in the market. The Globalization and WTO policies implemented in such a way in the country that imported grains i.e. potatoes, onion among others are so cheap. He demand that climate justice, that mean those who responsible for the climate issues for example US, EU and other 1st world nations should pay compensation to the third world loss and they should also change their industrial production system in which high carbon emission is being discharged.

Fayyaz Ahmed, Provincial Coordinator, PKMT pointed out that 70.8 percent of households in Sindh were already suffering from malnutrition and poverty from the oppressive exploitative feudal land lords in the province, and to push profit-oriented corporate land grab and real estate development projects in the province would intensify hunger and poverty in the province. He also told that women agriculture workers should also been recognized as labour.

Asif Khan, member PKMT from Haripur mentioned that commodification of the natural resources which include land, water, seed, and forest etc. for corporate interest bring the mother earth at high risk. Deforestation, land erosion, food contamination, glacier melting are happening at a very high speed. Flood, drought, diseases are the manifestation of these issues. If people owns and control these very natural resources peoples’ life would be at ease, happy healthy, and prosperous like in case of a village in Gilgit “Goharabad” where they own and control their mountain, tress, fruits etc.

PKMT leaders Raja Mujeeb, Tariq Mehmood and Wali Haider told that government is pursuing policies that advocate the production of genetically-engineered cotton; a policy which would ultimately allow hegemonic transnational seed companies such as Monsanto to take control and dictate the total agricultural cotton policy and production in the province, which surely will also spread to other provinces. The Amended Seed Act, 2015 and Plant Breeders Rights Act has already been passed which will aggressively promote hybrid and GM cotton; the next step would be they promotion of GM maize, as maize is the most important crop for KPK, the farmers of KPK should be aware of the implications and must resist. All of these initiatives are there to protect intellectual property rights of the TNCs in result BT cotton and Maize business will have a legal cover.

PKMT firmly reasserts farmers collective right to seed, its free exchange among farmers; it is the farmers who have bred, preserved and passed on the genetic material of seed over many millennia and we will not allow profit-hungry corporations to control the most basic agricultural input – critical for maintaining life on our planet. The agro-chemical mega-corporations that thrive on ‘selling’ lies about higher yields has gained super profits while leaving farmers reeling under multi-pronged crises from suicidal debt, to ever-increasing cost of production, pests and super bugs infestation, falling yields, and destroyed lands and lives. BT-cotton cultivation is a diabolical attack that will replace/reduce wheat production, the most critical food crop that ensures food security of the small and landless farmers.

PKMT demands that instead of promoting TNCs interest and GM crops, the government must put a moratorium on GM technology so that national genetic resources, environment, biodiversity and most importantly right to seed for farmers can be protected.

Local and indigenous seed stalls and pictorial exhibition of PKMT 10 years struggle were also displayed in the Assembly.

Released by: Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT)

https://www.dawn.com/news/1345831/timergara-people-seek-clean-drinking-water