Seed Bill fails to protect the farmer
Published on Aug 10, 2011
Modified on Aug 10, 2011
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The Seed Bill 2010 -- which stayed in controversy because its initial draft seemed to favour agri-business rather than the farmer -- is now ready to get debated and passed in the current session of Parliament. Despite consultations, first in a Parliamentary Standing Committee and later in an all party meeting, a large number of farmers’ unions, opposition parties and civil society groups believe that the Bill fails to protect the small and marginal farmers’ interests. While many members of the UPA Chairperson’s National Advisory Council (NAC) have openly opposed the anti-farmer provisions of the Bill, many stalwarts like the Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar have condemned it because it gives the state governments no control over production, distribution or sale of seeds or over their market prices. The seed companies are already charging astronomical profits and the Seed Bill provides no clause to regulate either the retail prices or the overall royalties of the big corporate. Incidentally, some Indian states like the Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka are doing quite well in promoting community-based seed banks with the help of mainly women operated Self Help Groups (SHGs). But instead of providing institutional mechanisms to help the community-run seed banks or learning from our own best-practices, the Government is trying to outsource the seed business to private companies. Following are some of the most important points missing from the current version of the Seed Bill (for details please see the links below): 1. There must be a clause to regulate the royalty of the seed companies and the prices of seeds in the market. The state government should be given the powers to do so in their areas. The State governments should also be able to register/ permit seeds that are suitable for their unique soil and climatic conditions. (In general the Seed Bill 2010 provides very little power to states to be able to regulate the market despite the fact that agriculture is a state subject) 2. Farmer must be protected against crop failure after using branded seeds. Compensation in case of crop failure should be linked to volumes of sales (Something like 100 times the total price of seeds sold in the market by a company rather than a blanket Rs 30,000 as mentioned in the Bill.) In 2005, Mahyco Seed Company (the local partner of Monsento) refused compensation to the cotton farmers of Warangal district after purchase of expensive seeds from the company led to crop failure. Hence the Seed Bill must have a strong liability clause to adequately protect the farmer against crop failure. 3. Bill must not allow blanket approval for import of seeds (It could be linked to the soil or climatic conditions of different areas of the country). The imported seeds must be first certified on the basis of their suitability after they have been duly tested on Indian soil and after making sure that they conform to the minimum yield requirements. The Bill must also include provisions to protect the farmer against bio-piracy or the theft of local seed varieties by foreign companies. 4. The final Act should have institutional arrangement for promoting community-based seed banks. (often run by self help groups or SHGs) It should encourage linkages between Krishi-Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), Agricultural Universities, ICAR and State financial institutions etc in such a way that (a) foundation seeds (b) technical support and (c) working capital is provided by the state govts to seed banks. The seed banks duly linked to KVKs should not require certification for doing seed business. For more details and a more analytical view, please read the following links: Representation on Seed Bill, 2010 to Prime Minister AMENDMENTS PROPOSED BY AP STATE GOVT FOR THE SEED BILL 2004 SEED BILL 2010 an analytical view Seed bill 2010 concerns and amendments proposed hindi Seed Bill 2010 with Amendments http://www.tehelka.com/story_main50.asp?filename=Ws050811S No Scarecrow Will Chase the US Away ‘Everyone Wants Wheat And Rice’ UPA ministers back Nitish opposition to Seed Bill, http://www.im4change.org/rural-news-update/upa-ministers-b |
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