November 21, 2014
Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT) and Roots for Equity strongly condemns the recent move by the federal government to give control of the seed sector to the multinational companies.
The proposed Seed Amendment Bill 2014 was tabled in the National Assembly on August 8, 2014 introduced by Minister for National Food Security and Research Sikandar Hayat Bosan. According to the minister “the amendment to the Seed Act 1976 was required as the act in its present form does not fulfill the requirement of modern seed industry.”
In other words, the earlier Act does not fulfill the wishes of the multinational corporations. The proposed Seed Amendment Bill 2014 in essence hands over food sovereignty to transnational agrochemical corporations. It is important to point out that the 18th Amendment made Agriculture a provincial subject based on which earlier in the year the KPK and the Punjab government moved a provincial Seed Bills in their respective assemblies; In July through a special resolution the provinces authorized the federal government to be responsible for the enacting legislation on the Seed Act. The provinces got their provincial autonomy after long hard fight, so why did they hand over a critical part of this right to the federal government? Further, the KPK government, which in essence is challenging the federal government in every aspect, has willingly handed over the Seed Act to them. It is clear that the elitist political parties really have no interest in guarding the most oppressed.
The draft seed act is a prime example of obedience of our governments, federal and provincial, to rich countries and their transnational corporations. In this case, the dictation of agro-chemical corporations such as Monsanto, Pioneer, and Syngenta is responsible for the draft Seed Act 2014. The US State Department, in a 2013 statement, has said that Pakistan has made “no tangible progress” in protecting agricultural intellectual property rights (IPRs), (which is needed under the World Trade Organization, TRIPs agreement). It also does not enforce IPRs for genetically modified organisms (GMOs). This, it said “deterred US seed companies from entering the Pakistani Market.”
The proposed amended seed bill, which is in compliance with TRIPs, guarantees the private sector taking control over the livelihood of small farmers and is one of the most anti-farmer international law in third world countries such as Pakistan. Such a disastrous step will certainly worsen food insecurity in Pakistan.
The draft seed act states “the genetically modified variety shall have no adverse effect on the environment, human, animal or plant life or health.” If that is the case, why have France and Germany been the most prominent EU countries that have put restrictions on GMOs? Both these countries are one of the most scientifically advanced countries in the world. Russia and China have also banned various forms of GMOs.
The people of Pakistan, particularly small and landless farmers demand the same protection of their livelihood, health and food as the more advanced nations of the world. Farmers in Pakistan are being forced to become pawns of the corporate seed sector. This is imperialism is at its best! Farmers will never allow corporations to control our seeds, the basis of our livelihood.”
