FOREIGN FIRMS BEING INVITED TO OVERCOME COTTON SEED SHORTAGE

Posted on November 30, 2016 by Roots for Equity

Business Recorder, 30 November 2016

Tahir Amin

ISLAMABAD: The government has decided to invite foreign seed companies to overcome cotton seed shortage and increase yield after getting legal protection through proposed “Plant Breeders’ Right Bill.”

The Senate last week passed the ‘Plant Breeders’ Right Bill’ and with the adoption of the bill by both Houses of the Parliament, it will become Plant Breeders’ Rights Act of 2016 after the President’s assent. The development of new plant varieties and the rights of their breeders have been protected for the first time in Pakistan under the proposed legislation.

The Plant Breeder Right Act has been remained pending for the last 11 years. In the absence of this legislation, dealers/companies had no legal protection. Only first generation of BT cotton is available in the country, while the second and the third generations are yet to be made available. However, officials said that proposed legislation would provide level playing field; thus encouraging seed companies to develop the latest cotton seed in the country.

Secretary Ministry of Textile Industry Hassan Iqbal on Tuesday chaired a meeting on cotton seed issue which was attended by Secretary Punjab Agriculture department and director generals of other provinces to finalise modus operandi for inviting foreign companies including Monsanto to overcome certified cotton seed shortage.

Director General Federal Seed certification and Registration Department (FSC&RD) briefed the meeting on availability and issues related to seed.

The Secretary Punjab briefed the House about various activities undertaken by the department for bringing discipline in Agriculture and Seed industry in the province. Federal Secretary appreciated the activities of Punjab government and expressed all possible support to Punjab government and private sector for strengthening of cotton sector.

Chairman Seed Association of Pakistan (SAP) Chaudhry Asif Ali raised some concerns over plans of Punjab government while both parties were advised by the Chair to interact in detail and develop consensus on various issues.

Currently, around 50 percent carried seed was available in the country which was not meeting the requirement and negatively affecting cotton production, a senior official revealed to Business Recorder here on Tuesday. The participants also decided that foreign companies would be allowed only to provide genes while seed would be developed locally.

The official said the proposed legislation would encourage plant breeders and seed organisations of both public and private sectors to invest in research and plant breeding; development of superior varieties of field, vegetable and ornamental crops; and facilitate access to protected foreign varieties and new technologies.

Currently, only Bollgard-I is available in Pakistan, however the move would help in introducing Bollgard-II and Roundup Ready Flux (RRF).

The sources further said that Ministry of Climate Change officials assured the participants that all the pending issues before the National Bio-safety Committee (NBC) regarding Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) would be resolved soon.

http://epaper.brecorder.com/2016/11/30/7-page/823818-news.html

MONSANTO PAKISTAN INTRODUCES BIO-TECH SEED

Posted on November 28, 2016 by Roots for Equity

The Express Tribune, November 26^th, 2016.

LAHORE: More than 500 corn-farmers from across Punjab attended the field trial and demonstration event organised by Monsanto Pakistan at their field research facility located at Manga Mandi near Lahore.

The event showcased Monsanto’s latest bio-tech corn seed technology together with high performance hybrid seed products, with the objective of educating famers on Monsanto’s latest products and technology.

The occasion also included an exhibition space for various vendors and businesses related to the agriculture sector, including agriculture implements manufacturers, on-farm solar energy solution providers, fertilisers and agri finance institutions.

Briefing the visitors, Shariq Bokhari, Sales Effectiveness Lead – Asia & Africa at Monsanto Pakistan, explained that the new bio-tech seed had the potential to increase the yield of corn crop by an additional 5-10% through mitigation of yield losses incurred on account of weed and insect attacks.

Farmers attending the event received detailed briefings and practical demonstrations of the new seed technology. Many of the farmers showed excitement at the prospect of a new and technologically advanced seed and urged the introduction of the new bio-tech corn at the earliest.

Explaining the features of the to-be-launched bio-tech corn products, Monsanto’s Regulatory Affairs Lead Muhammad Asim said, “the bio-tech seed has special features that enable better yield assurance through protection against weeds and pests, resulting in enhanced livelihood of farming communities.”

Asim confirmed that the new bio-tech corn received approval in February 2016 for commercialisation from the Federal Ministry of Climate Change and currently permission of hybrids with the modern technology is awaited for commercial import from the Ministry of National Food Security and Research.

He explained that all other regulatory requirements had been fulfilled after having initiated the very first trials in 2009 and subsequent submission of commercialisation application in 2011. It is expected that the new product will be commercially available soon.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/1244503/new-techniques-monsanto-pakistan-introduces-bio-tech-seed/

SENATE CLEARS PLANT BREEDERS’ BILL

Posted on November 25, 2016 by Roots for Equity

Dawn, November 25th, 2016

Amin Ahmed

ISLAMABAD: The development of new plant varieties and the rights of their breeders have been protected for the first time in Pakistan with the adoption of the ‘Plant Breeders’ Right Bill’ by the Senate on Wednesday.

The new law will encourage plant breeders and seed organisations of both public and private sectors to invest in research and plant breeding; development of superior varieties of field, vegetable and ornamental crops; and facilitate access to protected foreign varieties and new technologies.

With the adoption of the bill by both houses of parliament, it will become Plant Breeders’ Rights Act of 2016 after president’s assent, which is largely a formality.

Establishment of a viable seed industry is essential to the food security in Pakistan to ensure the availability of high-quality seeds and planting material to the farmers. It is necessary to make provisions for developing the breeding of new plant varieties, protecting the rights of their breeders and providing exemptions to them.

To comply with the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement, the government has already introduced several laws in the field of intellectual property, including patents, trademarks, copyright and industrial designs. Under the agreement, Pakistan is also required to provide intellectual property rights to the breeders of new plant varieties.

The new act will facilitate access to protected foreign varieties and new technologies; creating healthy competition for variety development among public and private sector organisations; facilitate in generating revenues for research institutes and financial incentives for plant breeders; and effectively control menace of counterfeiting in the seed sector for betterment of farmer community and food security in the country.

Under the act, the federal government will establish the ‘Plant Breeders’ Rights Registry’ under the Ministry of National Food Security and Research to facilitate protection of new plant varieties and issue certificates.

A plant variety protection advisory committee will also be established with members from the public and private sectors to advise the ministry of the registry on scientific and technical issues.

http://www.dawn.com/news/1298445/senate-clears-plant-breeders-bill

Reaping the Rice Harvest through Indigenous Method

Posted on November 12, 2016 by Roots for Equity

The pictures show the recent rice harvest obtained from the Roots for Equity 3.5 acre trial farm in Multan. The 13 local and traditional rice varieties, collected from farmers in different parts of Sindh and Punjab were grown employing traditional methods. Rice was harvested in one week with the help of six women farmers. Threshing was carried out manually and then the next step was of ensuring that all varieties were stored separately in labeled bags. Each bag was weighed as well to estimate the production of each variety.

SAVE OUR HOMES! PROTESTERS DECRY LOSS OF LIVELIHOOD DUE TO DAM CONSTRUCTION

Posted on November 8, 2016 by Roots for Equity

The Express Tribune, November 8^th, 2016.

KARACHI: The Sindh government and Sindh Engro Coal Mining Company’s (SECMC) plan to construct a dam on agricultural land drove residents of Ghorani village in Islamkot Tehsil to tears on Monday.

Protesters such as Sita Bai pleaded to the government not to take away their livelihoods during a demonstration outside the Karachi Press Club. She said that she and her fellow villagers had been on the road, fighting for their rights for 17 consecutive days.

Leela Ram and Ravi Shankar, who have been leading the protest in Islamkot and Karachi, told The Express Tribune, “We don’t have any political agenda, rather it’s a question of our children and that our coming generations are going to be affected by this toxic water dam.”

Ram explained that the toxic water from the Thar coalfields will be amassed in the dam being built by the government on private and cultivable landholdings rather than on deserted ones in the same area.

The resident alleged that the proposed 2,700-acre dam will harm their pattern of living and damage the local ecosystem of the area.

According to other protesters, who were shouting slogans, the toxic water dam being constructed in Thar Block-II by SECMC is a grave injustice to the people of the area.

Fifteen villages with a population of 15,000 people will be affected by the construction of the dam, as the area of some of the villages will be submerged once the dam is constructed while others will have to deal with seepage, claimed the villagers. Agricultural land and around 20,000 livestock will also suffer.

They asserted that unlike most villages in Tharparkar desert, theirs is rich, with about 200,000 trees, 20 potable water wells, natural ponds and five historical graveyards – all of which will be affected by the dam.

Junaid Kumar said that their elected representatives do not care about their plight or their future. “This is the first time we celebrated Diwali while protesting on the road,” he lamented.

Another protester, Lakho Bheel, said they do not want to halt construction of the damn but they are demanding the authorities change the location of the dam to an area where there is no cultivatable land or population.

“We are patriotic and must not be considered to be against the development of our area by coal exploration,” maintained Shankar. He added that his people were certainly not against the prosperity of the area.

He demanded the Chief Justice of Pakistan, the chief minister of Sindh and the chairperson of Pakistan Peoples Party to take notice of the dam. Otherwise, he warned, they will continue to protest indefinitely.

The SECMC, a joint venture of the Sindh government and Engro Powergen Limited, plans to produce 3,960 megawatts (MW) of electricity through four 330MW and four 660MW plants.

http://tribune.com.pk/story/1223702/save-homes-protesters-decry-loss-livelihood-due-dam-construction/

Decent Wages for Agricultural Laborers!

Posted on October 17, 2016 by Roots for Equity

Press Release: World Hunger Day

The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nation holds 16^th October as “World Hunger Day” every year for the past 70 years. The United Nations slogan for World Hunger Day is “Climate is changing. Food and Agriculture Must Too.” However, Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT) and Roots for Equity in collaboration with Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) and Pesticide Action Network (PAN AP) has marked the day as “World Huger Day”; A public rally participated by the large number of small and landless farmers was in Haripur, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) protested the abysmal condition of food security faced by a majority in the country, especially the women across the working class and small producers.

Speaking to the rally the PKMT provincial coordinator Tariq Mehmood stated that Pakistan is one of the largest producers of wheat, rice and milk. Despite this fact, the advent of free marketing, corporate farming and land grabbing in the name of agricultural progress has deeply aggravated hunger and has further impoverished the marginalized sectors, especially women. It is shameful that Pakistan is 147^th out of 188 countries on the Human Development Index, 121^st in 155 countries on the Gender Inequality Index, and the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) shows that 45.6% of Pakistani are multi-dimensionally poor. The aggressive corporate agriculture policies implemented in the country coupled with lack of equitable distribution of land are responsible for the relentless poverty in the country.

District coordinator PKMT Fayaz Ahmad was scathing of the UN’s slogan “Climate is changing. Food and Agriculture Must Too.” It is the disastrous fossil fuel economy that has created chaos in Hattar, as well the climate catastrophe world over. Now these corporations are providing ‘climate smart’ technologies, which will earn them more profits and the landless, small famers more hunger and misery.

Several leaders of PKMT from KPK stated that poverty and hunger can only be corrected if farmers are allowed to be the key decision makers for agriculture and rural development policies. The Government has initiated programs such as China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that have adverse impacts on farmers, especially along the CPEC route including in Haripur and Hazara; this will surely increase poverty and hunger in KPK and the rest of Pakistan.

PKMT demand’s an equitable distribution of land with the elimination of the role of international corporations from rural and agriculture development. Only self-sufficiency in agriculture production can ensure food sovereignty for the country. In addition, agricultural laborers, especially rural women be recognized as a formal sector a must of decent wages.

PKMT and Roots for Equity also hold a press conference in Multan Press Club on the eve of World Hunger Day on 16^th October, 2016. According to Dr. Azra Talat Sayeed, Executive Director, Roots for Equity, an almost criminal impact of unjustlabor practicesin agricultural sector is the impact on agricultural work force, especially women who comprise a huge percentage of the agriculture labor force. They form the bulk of labor force in sowing, harvestingof important crops such as cotton, wheat, sugarcane and rice, including vegetables. According to Mr M. Sadiq, a landless farmer from the riverine belt, “our misery is based on inequitable distribution of land and lack of decent wages for agricultural workers.” According to an ongoing research of Roots for Equity, in Sindh and Punjab women cotton pickers earn Rs 200 to 300/maund of cotton; sugarcane harvesting earns them nothing but measly amounts of fodder. Wheat harvested in extreme weather conditions earns them no more then 5-8 kg of wheat per day (Rs 150-250/day).Agriculture women workers, working 8-10 hours/day, face acute gender discrimination and human and women rights violations. It needs to be emphasized that the role of these women in agricultural production is responsible for vast amount of foreign exchange earnings.

Released by: Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT) and Roots for Equity

PKMT Women Farmers Demand Agriculture as Formal Sector!

Posted on October 15, 2016 by Roots for Equity

Press Release

October 15^thwas declared as the Rural Women’s Day in 2008. The context was to declare Rural Women’s Day on the eve of the World Food Day (October 16) to emphasize the crucial role of rural women in world food production.

Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT) and Roots for Equity alongwith Pesticide Action Network (PAN AP) celebrated the Rural Women’s Day by organizing a rural women’s assembly in Khairpur and a protest rally in front Sukkur Press Club, Sindh. In this rally, rural women from several districts of Sindh participated.

The rally was organized to highlight and protest the exploitation and oppression perpetuated against rural women, especially those working in the fields as agriculture women workers. Addressing the rally, Dr. Azra Talat Sayeed said that women form a huge proportion of the agricultural work force. These women are sow, harvest and provide daily care ofimportant crops such as cotton, wheat, sugarcane and rice. According to an ongoing research by Roots for Equity on Women Agriculture Labor, women in Sindh and Punjab working as cotton pickers earn Rs 200 to 300 per 40 kg which generally takes more than a day. Grueling work during wheat harvest is paid in kind and does not exceed Rs 100 to150 per day. These women work 8 to 10hours a day regardless of extremes of weather. Moreover, these women are the target of gender discrimination. According to Sana Sharif, it needs to be emphasized that the backbreaking work of women is responsible for the country earning billions of rupees in foreign exchange which is especially true for the textile industry. The Pakistani government has failed to incorporate the agriculture in the formal sector leaving behind millions of men and women agriculture labor with out access to a decent livelihood.

PKMT activists, Sainth Bheel and Hafeezan highlighted the fact that exploitation of rural women has resulted in women facing higher levels of poverty, hunger and misery. Patriarchal norms and feudal control has not allowed them to access education, not for them and tragically not for their daughters. Further, women agriculture workers, who produce food for millions of homes across the country face food insecurity routinely.

Raja Mujeeb, National Coordinator, PKMT stated that according to the National Nutrition Survey, 2013, 50.4% rural women suffer from anemia, 41.3% and 66.8% have Vitamin A and Vitamin D deficiency, respectively. The survey also reported that amongst 145 countries, Pakistan was ranked 144 in the list of countries, and Gender Inequality Index of 121 of 155. He also stated that hybrid and genetically modified crops were not only polluting the farm land and making farmers subservient to the market but also creating dangerous health problems for rural women because of the use of dangerous pesticides and chemical fertilizers. It is common for rural women to have health problems such as pruritus, asthma and several other illnesses because of such chemicals.Provincial coordinator (Sindh) of PKMT, Ali Nawaz Jalbani stated that in order to eradicate poverty and hunger, important agriculture inputs such as land and seed must be the ownership of small and landless farmers, rather than the right of agricultural multinational corporations.

PKMT on this World Day of Rural Women, demands that the influence of corporate farming and multinational corporations be eliminated and land allotted to rural women through just and equitable land distribution policies. In addition, agricultural laborers, especially rural women be recognized as a formal sector a must of decent wages.

Sindh Translation

Urdu Translation

US Returns Rice Infested With World’s Most Destructive Insect To Pakistan

Posted on September 16, 2016 by Roots for Equity

World | Press Trust of India | Updated: September 13, 2016

US returned a consignment of Pakistani rice which was found infested with the deadly Khapra beetle

WASHINGTON: A consignment of rice from Pakistan was found infested with one of the world’s most destructive insect pests, Khapra beetle, by US customs officials at a port, officials said.

US Customs and Border Agriculture Specialists intercepted four Khapra beetle larva cast skins in the shipment of rice originating from Pakistan on September 8 at the Norfolk,Virginia port of entry.

The shipment was then sent back to Pakistan.

The skins were found inside a sea container shipment under a plastic liner between the rice and the container floor, the US Customs and Border Protection said in a statement.

Specimens were submitted to the US Department of Agriculture for testing and Norfolk Customs officials received confirmation that the specimens were Khapra beetles. This is the second Khapra beetle detection this year.

There were three Khapra beetle interceptions last year. It is considered to be one of the world’s most destructive insect pests of grains, cereals and stored foods.

Insect pests, said to be less than one per cent of all species, are such insects that feed on, compete for food with, or transmit diseases to humans and livestock.

The Khapra beetle is labelled a ‘dirty feeder’ because it damages more grain than it consumes, and because it contaminates grain with body parts and hairs.

http://www.ndtv.com/world-news/us-returns-rice-infested-with-worlds-most-destructive-insect-to-pakistan-1457985

Farmers Reject GM Cotton/BT Cotton

Posted on September 1, 2016 by Roots for Equity

Press Release

August 31, 2016

Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT) and Roots for Equity had organized a protest rejecting the promotion of Bt/GM in Punjab, Pakistan in front of Lahore Press Club. Farmers from various districts from Punjab participated in the protest.

Addressing to the protest PKMT secretary 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 has already been passed that was the first step in aggressively promoting hybrid and GM cotton; the next step is the passing of the Plant Breeders Rights Act, which is already in the final stage of approval in the National Assembly. All of these initiative are there to protect intellectual property rights of the TNCs in result Bt cotton 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.

According to PKMT National Coordinator Raja Mujeeb, Bt-cotton was initially illegally imported to Pakistan, has time and again wrecked havoc in the cotton fields of the country – last year’s very low cotton yields is testament. According to a research study by International Research on Cancer, Glysophate can probably cause cancer in human. This chemical is used extensively in Monsanto’s herbicide “Round-up Ready.”

PKMT Punjab coordinator, Zahoor Joya emphases that GM technology is being resisted by a vast number of countries across the World, including in very advanced countries such as France and Germany; in such an environment, where Pakistan does not have enough expertise to evaluate this technology, promotion of GM crops can result in many disasters impacting our environment, biodiversity, health and food security. The certified Monsanto seeds in India have already faced a failure creating havoc in the lives of farmers there. In this scenario, the Government must step back and put its efforts in promoting agroecological practices in the production of cotton which would yield high quality cotton. This has a vast market abroad and in the country and would ensure not only a livelihood for farmers but improve the health of the people and our agricultural land.

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.

Released by: Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT)

Urdu Press Release

Hungarians Just Destroyed All Monsanto GMO Corn Fields

Posted on August 27, 2016 by Roots for Equity

Hungary has taken a bold stand against biotech giant Monsanto and genetic modification by destroying 1000’s of acres of corn found to have been grown with genetically modified seeds, according to Hungary deputy state secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development Lajos Bognar.

Unlike many European Union countries, Hungary is a nation where genetically modified (GM) seeds are banned. In a similar stance against GM ingredients, Peru has also passed a 10 year ban on GM foods.

“Almost 1000 acres of maize found to have been planted with genetically modified seeds have been destroyed throughout Hungary, deputy state secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development Lajos Bognar said.

The GMO corn has been ploughed under, said Lajos Bognar, but pollen has not spread, he added.

Unlike several other EU members, GMO seeds are banned in Hungary. The inspections will continue despite the fact that traders are obliged to make sure that their products are GMO free, Bognar said.

During the invesigation, controllers have found Monsanto products among the seeds planted.

The free movement of goods within the EU means that authorities will not investigate how the seeds arrived in Hungary, but they will check where the goods can be found, Bognar said. Regional public radio reported that the two biggest international seed producing companies are affected in the matter and GMO seeds could have been sown on up to the thousands of hectares in the country.

“Most of the local farmers have complained since they just discovered they were using GMO seeds.” said globalresearch.ca

As of May 2015, Hungary had not responded to the new EU legislation making GMOs legal in all countries unless they specifically opt out. Germany looks like they may opt out. Scotland has opted out within the UK.

GMO seeds are not considered worrisome and dangerous simply because they are modified, but it is that they are modified to handle massive doses of glyphosate (Roundup), and not die. They are made to take baths in the chemical herbicide that is so dangerous for human consumption, and it is the fear that the buildup of glyphosate within crops is a potential cause for the recent rapid increase in autism, cancers, and other long-term developing illnesses. The company Monsanto has been so aggressive legally to cover up any public ill, believed to be hushing farmers, buying off segments of the government and paying off scientists in the U.S. that it is hard for anyone to know what logistical data has been soured, and what truths to believe. It has become easier for countries like Hungary to plow under the crop than to try to disseminate between what is fact and what is farse with Monsanto’s disastrous reputation and communication failures.

There is also the factor that when Monsanto seeds are found to be present on land, they fight for ownership of those seeds, and consider them as patent infringement, theft, or whatever you want to call it. Rather than fight the giant in court every time their seeds blow into a field, it’s easier to wipe them off the map.

Source: www.offgridquest.com | Original Post Date: August 30, 2015

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