Some Civil Modern society Organisations (CSO) in the Upper East, Upper West and Northern Locations are contacting for the suspension of the Plant Breeder’s Bill at this time before the Parliament.
They say the Monthly bill is among other factors, hostile to the rights of the Ghanaian farmer and also undermines Ghana’s Sovereignty.
The organisations involve the Middle for Indigenous Awareness and Organizational Progress (CIKOD), the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, the Ghana Muslim Council and other farmer-based groups in the Higher East, Higher West and Northern locations.
The companies ended up at a workshop in Bolgatanga, to go over agroecology and weather transform challenges.
The purpose was to make consciousness and improve collaboration among stakeholders advertising and marketing agroecology in the Savannah ecological zone.
At the finish of the workshop, the groups unanimously issued a communique to government, to convey their frustrations about the Plant Breeders’ Bill now right before parliament.
Executive Director, CIKOD, Bernard Guri explained some of the proposals in the present Plant Breeder’s Bill are hostile to Ghanaian farmers.
He stated that section of the tradition in Ghana when it will come to farming is that farmers at the close of each individual period, select the seeds they know will germinate best, store them and afterwards share them with other farmers who do not have fantastic seeds.
“But the regulation the Plant Breeders Bill is trying to get to move stops us from carrying out that because if for case in point, a farmer purchases seeds from 1 of these big seed firms, he can’t select the seeds and share them with other farmers mainly because that will be towards the law and he is liable to becoming arrested”, he described.
Quoting Area 23 of the Plant Breeder’s Monthly bill, the Upper East Regional Focal Human being for the Peasant Farmers Association of Ghana, John Akaribo, said the bill if passed into regulation, will be unbiased of the constitution of Ghana.
He explained that “if a seed enterprise from outdoors the place sells seeds to farmers and anything goes improper – let’s say, the seed does not do nicely, our governing administration are not able to just take the seed enterprise to task”. “We believe this is incredibly bad”, he stated.
The Civil Society Organizations are as a result contacting on the Parliament of Ghana to refrain from adopting the Plant Breeder’s Monthly bill.
Underneath, is the complete statement they issued.
CIVIL Culture Meals SOVEREIGNTY System IN GHANA
Press Release For Instant Release
Assertion FROM CIVIL Modern society Businesses ON THE PLANT BREEDER’S Monthly bill
(Accra, August 19, 2020) – We, the undersigned, businesses and individuals, want an agricultural system that encourages foodstuff sovereignty in way that shields the atmosphere and ensures that farmers’ legal rights and self-willpower are recognized.
The Plant Breeder’s Invoice presently prior to parliament is destructive to Ghana’s advancement. For that reason, we unconditionally reject the Plant Breeder’s Monthly bill. The pursuing 5 (5) causes explain why the latest Plant Breeder’s Bill need to be turned down in its totality.
- Hostile to the rights of Farmers:
The invoice is hostile to smaller farmers in certain and farmers commonly for the reason that it does not make it possible for farmers to offer and trade seeds from so referred to as “protected varieties,” as it is heavily tilted in favor of industrial breeders and undermines farmers’ rights.
- Undermines Ghana’s sovereignty and weakens its agricultural sector:
Part 23 of the Plant Breeders Monthly bill is immediately from the colonizers’ system e-book. Note what it states:
A plant breeder right shall be unbiased of any measure taken by the Republic to control within Ghana the production, certification and advertising of substance of a range or the importation or exportation of the content.
This suggests that the Ghanaian authorities has no lawful authority about any seed production and advertising agency which offers in enhanced seed varieties in the state.
- Undermines Ghana’s biodiversity and food stuff sovereignty:
The monthly bill undermines biodiversity as it stifles the ability of farmers in high drought environments to acquire drought tolerant seeds.
- Undermines Ghana’s personal seed breeders and a competitive market:
This bill, based mostly as it is on UPOV 91, is made to fortify the power of the premier world seed firms and further weakens competition. This puts Ghanaian seed corporations at a disadvantage in relation to transnational seed businesses.
- Violates the Ghanaian worth method:
The monthly bill encourages home rights in plants and plant everyday living. It is modelled on the International Convention for the Protection of New Types of Crops of 1991 (UPOV 1991) which a rigid and an inflexible regime for asserting fallacious claims to “property rights” in lifestyle, beneath the language of “plant variety protection” (PVP).
As Ghana’s Parliament prepares to go over the monthly bill, we urge the august household to think about this.
What Ghana demands:
- A Farmer’s Bill: Ghana needs a Farmers’ monthly bill that encourages and guards the legal rights compact holder farmers in unique and farmers in typical. A Farmer’s Invoice would involve a disclosure of origin provision as an important tool to safeguard against biopiracy.
- A “Sui Generis” program: Ghana has comprehensive flexibility less than the World Trade Group (WTO) to develop an powerful “sui generis” process for plant wide variety security, i.e. to develop a distinctive procedure that suits its requires. Other nations which have carried out this include things like Ethiopia, India, and Thailand.
- Nationwide community-managed seed exchanges: Parliament need to prioritize the advancement of local community-managed seed exchanges. It is necessary that the presently existing group-managed system for seed exchanges and revenue are strengthened to assure that seed manufacturing is controlled by people who are most related for the greater part of foodstuff developed for use in the environment – compact holder farmers.
The undersigned signatories strongly urge the Parliament to refrain from adopting the Bill for the reason that it lacks believability, legitimacy and does not advantage Ghana.
We are steadfast in knowing a socio-economically just agricultural system, which is environmentally sustainable and that supplies healthy meals, for anyone.
Signed by: Bern Guri (Govt Director of CIKOD)
(On behalf of CIVIL Society Food stuff SOVEREIGNTY System IN GHANA)
