Page 66 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 22

Food Health
Food Health

Seeds In The Hands Of Peasant Farmers:

A Judgment In Favour Of Food Sovereignty In Honduras

by Biodiversidad | 2 Mar 2022. Published by GRAIN

he Honduran Supreme explicitly for the privatization of it unconstitutional. It was rejected,
Court of Justice has seeds around the world, imposing but two years later, peasant farmer
declared the Law for Pro- intellectual property rights over and independent producer groups
Ttection of Plant Varieties plant varieties”. Honduras was one filed a new motion, which led to
unconstitutional. Also known as of the states which signed up to the the law being declared unconstitu-
the Monsanto Law, this legislation UPOV Convention. tional last November, and publicly
was approved by Congress in this communicated as such at the end of
Central American country in 2012, ANAFAE (National Association January this year.
and made it illegal to save, give away, for the Promotion of Organic
or exchange seeds. This was part of Farming), a group which has been The judgment on the unconstitu-
the offensive waged by the Interna- advocating for organic farming and tionality of the law was based on
tional Union for the Protection of food sovereignty for over 25 years five main points:
New Varieties of Plants (UPOV), in Honduras, has spoken out against
an organization which, as explained this law ever since it was passed, and 1) “Legislative Decree no. 21-
by GRAIN, “works exclusively and in 2016, took legal action to declare 2012 represents an attack on our

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