TITLE: Draft of Seed Bill may be delayed AUTHOR: Ashok B Sharma PUBLICATION: Financial Express DATE: 11 April 2005 URL: http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_i d=87586 NOTE: GRAIN is currently involved in a collaborative research on seed laws -- varietal registration and certification schemes, for purposes of "marketing" -- around the world. If you have information, concerns or are otherwise involved in this issue in your country, do get in touch: grain(at)grain.org. DRAFT OF SEED BILL MAY BE DELAYED Ashok B Sharma New Delhi, April 10: The Union agriculture ministry's attempt to rush the draft National Seed Bill may be delayed. Acting on a representation made by an apex farmers' organisation, the chairperson of the National Advisory Council, Sonia Gandhi, directed the ministry to reconsider certain clauses in the proposed draft that are likely to hamper the interests of farmers. Incidentally, such an opposition comes from the farmers' outfit of the ruling Congress party, Bharat Krishak Samaj (BKS). Though the BKS executive chairman, Dr Krishna Bir Chaudhary had addressed the representation to Ms Gandhi as chairperson of the UPA coalition and president of the Congress party, she chose to act on this issue as the chairperson of the National Advisory Council to the government. The BKS leader, in his letter to Ms Gandhi, had said: "The bill is a clear trap to curb the traditional and indigenous rights of our peasantry to grow, breed, multiply, preserve and exchange seeds. The seed bill is wholly incongruous. Sinister as it is, it will demolish the time tested agrarian culture and the socio-economic fabric of the rural India that has for centuries worked faultlessly and sustained our small and marginal farmers, having even less than two acres of land. 83% farmers use their own farm-saved seeds. In one stroke, the National Seed Bill on enactment will reduce 36 crore farming families into pathetic non-entity and make them captive at the mercy of seed multinationals, aided and abetted by the unabashed and insensitive state machinery." The draft bill makes registration of seeds mandatory and in this context, Dr Chaudhary in his letter said: "The National Seed Bill treats farmers as traders. They will be hounded to run about for registration if they grow and exchange seeds." The previous week's 53rd All India Farmers' Council Meeting of BKS held in Hubli in Karnataka had authorised Dr Chaudhary to take up the issue with the Centre. The Hubli meeting, not only opposed the draft bill but also the introduction of transgenic seeds. The resolution said: "Seed is the most vital factor in enhancing agricultural production. The National Seed Bill should not put any infringement on the indigenous and traditional rights of the farmers to grow, breed, multiply, exchange and store seeds and be prevented to carry on the age old and time-tested barter system for mutual benefits of the fellow farmers. Farmers should not be treated as traders in the proposed bill. The Centre should bar the access of transgenic seeds and terminator technology in our agro-system for all times to come." The resolution also called for remunerative minimum support prices for crops and cautioned the Centre not to dismantle the state-sponsored procurement of grains, encouragement of organic farming and post-harvest management. GOING FURTHER (compiled by GRAIN) The draft Seeds Bill is available online at: http://www.agricoop.nic.in/seeds/seeds_bill.htm