Page 43 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 18

Food Health

Ghana, or Uganda, or Kenya, or
Malawi, and all of a sudden find a
seed that they find useful because of
certain varieties and characteristics
and then alter it a little bit genetically
and patent that seed without giving
any form of benefit sharing to the
community that developed this seed
over the centuries. That is the kind
of politics that is going on in many
Afrikan countries, it is the politics
that is going on in Ghana, and as
civil society organizations, we say
that there must be another way we
must be wise enough to realize that
respecting the environment, living that Food Sovereignty Ghana and seed, according to the law, you stand
very closely with nature, is what is our allies did to get the government to get a minimum 10-year sentence
going to determine our ability to to understand that there was some if you did not know and you ex-
grow food from the soil in 10, 20, tweaking that needed to be done changed that seed. It is getting into
30 years from now. to the bill. For instance, in the old very murky waters, but basically a
bill it said that the rights of a plant 10-year sentence, in the US I think it
That is true. Tell us about what breeder would be immune to the is a maximum of a 2-year sentence,
you’re doing in terms of pushing constitution of Ghana, I think that even in a country where Monsanto
back against Ghana’s decision used to be clause 23, and we had operates so freely. So, any person
as a government to go into the always been opposed to that because who is found exchanging, or saving,
UPOV. we felt the constitution of Ghana or selling seeds that may happen
We have been doing advocacy should be able to act on any plant to be patented, and most of these
against Ghana joining UPOV, which breeder that comes into Ghana and patented seeds happen to be created
is the international convention for whatever implications happen from from a stock of seeds that were
new plant varieties, and basically their activities, the laws of Ghana developed by communities over
this is a very inflexible regime that should be able to be applied on that centuries, and in all the cases there
makes you have to stick within cer- plant breeder. That was a develop- is never a benefit sharing scheme
tain guidelines that are determined ment that we thought was positive for the community that developed
through certain interests. They make that came out of the deliberations. this plant variety to benefit from the
you develop law, implement it into Unfortunately, and in a highly years of what they contributed to
your country, which makes it, for unprecedented manner, Ghana is bringing it to have those character-
instance, criminal for farmers to trying to introduce a clause which istics.
save, and exchange, and sell seeds says that there will be a 10-year
because they want to create a regime minimum sentence for any farmer It is an unfair regime. I cannot
where the business and the com- that is found exchanging, selling imagine how many Afrikan men
merce can be applied to seeds. But seeds that could be patented. Now, and women would fall into this gap
we see seeds as a common good, you and I have no idea of being able of someone who is found to be
just like the air that you breathe and to determine what is a patented seed exchanging seeds, or saving seeds, or
the water that you drink. and what is a normal seed when it is selling seeds. It can happen to you
In Ghana, currently we have been placed in a market in a pile. If you unknowingly. And in the US, there
doing some advocacy for about go to Kangemi market or markets are judgment debts that have been
3,4,5 years now on the plant variety in Nairobi, anywhere in Afrika you handed over to farmers for seeds
protection bill, which was recently see that the women pile seeds, they blown there by the wind or some
passed by parliament, and is waiting pile goods. How are we going to tell other vector of transfer and they
for assent from the president. We that this is a pile of patented seeds, owe money to these commercial
have been against certain aspects and this is a pile of normal seeds? entities because it is like ‘we own the
of the bill and certain aspects were Such that if you go and plant that seed and what it produces’.
changed because of the advocacy

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