Farmers state position on Plants Breeders’ Bill
The Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana has stated that it fully supports the application of science and technology in the agricultural sector.
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“However, we are against technology that will take away our sovereignty and enslave us to foreign multinationals, whose primary motivation is profit,” the association said.
In a speech read on his behalf at a press conference, the President of the association, Abdul-Rahman Mohammed, contended that, “Our experienced and intelligent scientists at the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) are paid by the Ghanaian taxpayer to research into how to improve local agricultural production”.
The press conference was to state small-scale farmer’s position on the Plants Breeders’ Bill (PBB) and the constraints in the agricultural sector for public discussion.
He, therefore, appealed to the government to provide financial resources to enable our scientists to make available what they had been doing for farmers.
Nature of bill
Mr Mohammed said the bill in its current form was more in favour of foreign nationals than the smallholder farmers, citing clauses three to seven in the bill, which state, among other issues, that for a crop or seed to be considered under the bill, it must be new, distinct and uniform.
He added that from the clauses read, it was clear that the bill was talking of genetically engineered crops or seeds, thus, “all existing indigenous plants and seeds do not qualify”.
“Moreover, smallholder farmers have a long history of saving and sharing seeds. This clause is discriminatory of our practice of saving and sharing seeds even across borders,” Mr Mohammed explained.
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He further said the bill, if passed, would not have factored in the political, economic, socio-cultural and health implications for citizens.
“There is a risk of loss or disappearance of local/indigenous seeds and the complete takeover of the seed industry by commercial plant breeders,” he pointed out.
Writer’s Email: severious.dery@graphic.com.gh