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When the African Union rallies behind business to control a sector that impacts livelihood of 33 million smallholder farmers, we must always shout from the rooftops
August 18, 2021. A day like no different? For, on today seed techniques, farmer-managed seed techniques and farmers’ rights on the African continent got here below direct assault by a physique that must be their main custodian—the African Union (AU).
On today, a critical blow was dealt on Africa’s seed sector when it got here to mild that in just a few days — August 23 — AU would maintain a validation assembly to formalise the draft continental pointers on biotechnology and seed regulatory frameworks that that they had been quietly engaged on since April 2021.
The rules — which have been endorsed by AU coverage organs on February 16, 2022 — are geared toward establishing a centralised seed and biotechnology framework in meals and agriculture throughout the continent.
This course of shall be carried out inside the frameworks of the African Continental Free Commerce Space (AfCFTA) — a mega free commerce deal international locations are negotiating.
The AU course of endangers seeds, seed techniques and farmers’ rights in 55 African member states of AU. We’re extraordinarily involved concerning the contents of the rules and frameworks, the assembly and the processes main as much as today.
The rules are harmonising corporate-centred legal guidelines that not solely promote commerce and funding but in addition situate African seed and meals techniques inside a industrial and industrial agenda.
Civil Society considerations, which have been captured and communicated in a press release launched by civil society organisations in 2021 embody:
- Formalisation, growth of personal seed manufacturing
- The misrepresentation and intention to formalise farmer managed seed techniques and farmers’ rights
- The promotion of the Worldwide Union for the Shield-ion of New Styles of Vegetation (UPOV) and, by extension, to guard the pursuits of company breeders
- The supposed seize of peasant struggles by curiosity teams just like the proposed African Seed and Biotechnology Partnership Platform.
Africa is dwelling to over 33 million smallholder farmers, so when AU rallies behind business to control a sector that impacts that many livelihoods, then we must always shout from the rooftops.
Most smallholder farmers in Africa are girls who work on lower than two hectares of arable land, develop primarily subsistence crops, rely solely on household labour and but proceed to feed the continent and past.
They’re the custodians of seed, the atmosphere and age-old norms and practices that defend various sorts of seeds and farming strategies.
Just lately, nonetheless, firms have shifted their focus from the remainder of the world to Africa because the “world’s subsequent bread basket.”
They’ve invested closely in industrial agriculture together with practices, seeds and chemical substances, because the magic bullet that can tackle meals insecurity and poverty on the continent. They’ve additionally earmarked Africa as the brand new marketplace for their chemical merchandise. African leaders and governments are bought on the narrative.
Beneath a cloud of secrecy and haste, pointers are set at AU to advertise agrarian extractivism on the expense of meals and seed sovereignty of a whole continent. Additionally they situate farmers’ rights and farmer managed seed techniques inside a company seed atmosphere and agenda.
Processes like these on the AU present a foundation and have an effect on different pointers and seed regulatory frameworks on the continental and nationwide processes.
They introduce mental property rights laws, seed high quality guidelines, seed advertising and marketing, phytosanitary measures and lots of others inside nationwide seed legal guidelines. The adverse results of those can and shall be felt in all 55 AU nations by opening the door to centralising and harmonising seed and plant selection safety regulatory frameworks at so many ranges and layers of the continent.
Henk Hobbelink is co-founder and coordinator of GRAIN. Susan Nakacwa works for Africa Programme, GRAIN
This was first printed in Down To Earth’s print version (dated 1-15 Could, 2022)
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