Proposed Act will ensure quality seed

By Gamini Warushamana

The thinking behind the proposed Seed Act is to regulate private sector seed importers, local producers and sellers to ensure the supply of quality seeds to farmers, Director General of Agriculture, Dr. Rohan Wijekoon said.

"At present we don't have laws to regulate seed supply. This Bill was drafted in 2003 and is open for public comment. Anybody can raise concerns and submit proposals. We have proposed the registration of all seed and planting material importers and suppliers and they will be legally responsible for supplying quality seeds and the outcome of the seeds they supply," he said. He assured that small farmers will not be affected and that only importers, commercial producers and suppliers of seeds and planting materials are covered by the Act.

He said that every year issues related to low quality seeds are reported and farmers suffer huge losses as a result. There are frequent failures in imported big onion and carrot seeds. In some cases the seeds are good but the outcome is poor and does not give the expected yield or quality products.

Under the new laws the outcome could also be observed and importers are liable in case of failure, he said.

The Bill proposes to set up a National Seed Council with the authority to regulate production and distribution of seed and planting material.

The power to implement the Act will be given to the Director General of Agriculture. However, campaigners against the Act claim that this power includes raids on households of farmers in search of 'illegal seeds' or seeds that have not been registered under the new law.

According to the Bill, the Council has the representation of seed users or the farmer community who will have two representatives.

Director (Seed and Planting material Development) of the Department of Agriculture, G.D.J.L. Sunil said that the regulations coming under the new Act was a long-felt need for the development of the agricultural sector.

He said that only 20-25 percent of the seed and planting material used in the country come from registered seed producers. The Department of Agriculture or other government agencies cannot provide all the seed requirements of the country and the private sector plays a major role in the seed market.

Therefore, regulating supply and ensuring quality is a paramount task. Low quality seeds leads to low yield and low profitability. Today the young generation is giving up agriculture due to low profitability. Supply of quality seeds is a vital component in changing the situation, he said.

He said that the new law will protect seed producers and seed users or farmers. Most of the unregistered seed suppliers provide low quality seeds and as a result farmers suffer.

There are complaints of people collecting seeds from garbage dumps in main agro markets and packeting and marketing them. Today we don't have laws to regulate the suppliers though we have a registration process. The proposed law will cover the collectors and sellers of seeds and planting material, he said.

However, political parties and farmer associations have launched protests against the proposed Seed Act claiming it will give the rights over seeds and planting material to private companies. A campaign has been launched against the Bill. Educating farmers on the threat of the proposed Act continues. The fear and negative perceptions of legislation of this type is inevitable because globally the seed market is dominated by multinational companies and there are many cases where such companies have grabbed the rights of farmers.

One example is the Plant Breeders Bill of Ghana. Public protest were staged against the Bill and protesters claimed that it would destroy farmers' rights and freedom and expand the rights and reach of multinational corporations. In many countries legislation brought to protect the rights of breeders have restricted the rights of farmers.

The new laws restrict the traditional way farmers use seeds and freely saving, using, sharing and selling seeds become illegal.

Land, seeds and water are the most important factors for farmers in agricultural production.

In most developing countries farmers have their own way of seed production, preservation and improvement and they shared seeds and did not depend on commercial seed producers or multinationals.

However, with the green revolution and commercialisation of agriculture the situation began to change. According to Swisaid, by 2009, globally, two-thirds of the seeds were commercially traded by seed companies.

The concentration of the market and creating cartels or monopolies has also been observed in recent years and this is another threat farmers face and also a reason to fear new regulations in developing countries.

Another issue is that agro chemical companies such as Monsanto, Bayer and Syngenta were acquiring seed production facilities. According to Philip H. Howard of the Michigan State University, by 2009 10 companies controlled two thirds of the global seed market.

There is a dialogue in the country on the overuse of agro chemicals and widespread kidney failure and cancers in farming areas. Critics say that the hybrid seeds produced by multinationals have been developed to depend heavily on chemical fertiliser and other agro chemicals and they earn profits from seeds and chemicals. As a result the demand for organic farm products and traditional varieties is increasing.

Introduction of hybrid seeds has compelled farmers to totally depend on seed companies. In recent years farmers in Sri Lanka have increasingly shifted to commercial hybrid seeds and as a result traditional local varieties face extinction.

For instance, local varieties of maize cultivated in chenas have been replaced by imported maize. Local vegetables such as bitter gourd, pumpkin and tomato have been replaced by imported seeds from Thailand or Malaysia.

Experts say that any legislation should consider the protection of plants as well. They point out that India's Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act introduced in 2001 has taken into consideration these aspects.

It recognises the rights of breeders, farmers and researchers.

In respect of farmers rights, the Act recognises the farmer as cultivator, conserver and breeder. The Act has established nine rights for farmers including the right to seeds and the right to compensation for crop failure.

In the proposed Seed Act too the suppliers responsibility of performance of the seeds has been recognised but there is no compensatory method for farmers.

The Seed Bill is now open for public comment and experts and concerned groups can have their views incorporated and protect the rights of farmers and improve their lives by ensuring the supply of quality seeds, higher yield and profitability.