26
Oct, New Delhi: More than 50 Indian Farmers’ groups
from the Indian Coordination Committee of Farmers Movements (ICCFM) [1], have expressed concern over the proceedings
of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food &
Agriculture (ITPGRFA) [2] in a letter submitted to Mr. R. K. Singh, the Treaty’s
national focal point in India today [3].Farmers claim there was no national consultation
process at India level and demands for an urgent meeting with the farmers community before
the next round of negotiations.
The UN Treaty is up for discussion at the 7th
Governing Body (GB) session scheduled between 30th October and 3rd November
2017 at Kigali, Rwanda.
As the Indian government prepares to present its
position at this important conference, farmers’ groups are disappointed that
the Government has not communicated it's statement with them or asked for any
suggestions, despite the fact that the Treaty makes it mandatory for farmers to
be an integral part of the decision-making process.
Under its aims to promote conservation and
sustainable use of plant genetic material for food and agriculture, the Treaty established
a Global Information System on Plant Genetic Resources by collecting seeds from
across the world,to provide farmers, scientists and the private sector access
to the same.Much of the exhaustive collection of the Treaty’s seed banks, the
Multilateral System, is held by the Consultative Group on International
Agricultural Research (CGIAR), which farmers say is a known lobby-group for the
world’s largest agri-businesses and GMO companies.
"These seeds are a public heritage that farmers
have developed over millennia.Apart from the bio-piracy threat posed by CGIAR,
the Treaty is now considering digitalizing the genetic information of the seeds
in these seed banks which will make it easier for private companies to patent
native genetic information, which will mean a certain death of the Treaty"
said Tanmay Joshi, of Nagpur Beejotsav Gat and Shetkari Sanghthan.
Though there is a clause that any commercial
benefits arising out of the use of these materials should be shared with the
countries where they have originated, there is no legally binding obligation.
Indian farmers are thus made even more vulnerable in this era of rampant
bio-piracy practiced by large agri-businesses.
Farmers groups are dissuading the Government from
entering into any collaboration with the multilateral Global Information System
or the DivSeek programme, both of which are aimed at dematerialising peasant
seeds by converting it into data of their genetic information, until stronger
provisions are made for safeguarding their rights over seeds and against
intellectual copyrighting.
“We hope that our concerns are well heard and acted upon. Upholding the democratic principles that lie within our constitution, we expect and request our Government representatives to have prior discussions with us before presenting at international conferences. Our seed security is at stake”, said Yudhvir Singh, convener of the AICCFM.
India is a megadiverse nation of rich plant genetic
heritage with thousands of varieties in each food crop species. Many of these
native crops have proven traits against the effects of climate change like
droughts, floods, submergence and salinity. Efforts should be taken to protect,
preserve and promote their cultivation without any risks of private patent
restrictions. The Kigali Conference will determine whether India’s food
sovereignty and the natural rights of our food producers can be protected at
the global level.
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Notes
[1] The Indian Coordaintion Committee of Farmers
movements is a national alliance of mass based farmers movements formed in
early 1990s and comprises of big farmers movements such as Bhartiya Kisan
Union, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha, The Tamilaga Vyavasayigal Sangam,
Shetkari Sanghatna and Kerala Coconut Growers Association . Collectively they
represent more than 300 million farmers nationally.
[2] The objectives of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture are the conservation and sustainable use of all plant genetic resources for food and agriculture and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of their use, in harmony with the Convention on Biological Diversity, for sustainable agriculture and food security. See: http://www.fao.org/plant-treaty/en/
[3] Mr. R.K. SINGH is the Indian focal point for
the treaty -
Department of Agriculture and Cooperation
Joint Secretary (Seeds)
Krishi Bhavan
New Delhi - India
Phone Number: +91 1123389241
Fax Number: +91 1123387669
Email Address: jsseeds-agri@nic.in
Department of Agriculture and Cooperation
Joint Secretary (Seeds)
Krishi Bhavan
New Delhi - India
Phone Number: +91 1123389241
Fax Number: +91 1123387669
Email Address: jsseeds-agri@nic.in
