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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | 'Seeds Bill would harm millions of farmers'

'Seeds Bill would harm millions of farmers'

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published Published on Apr 20, 2010   modified Modified on Apr 20, 2010


Fearing that the proposed Seeds Bill, 2004, if enacted, would harm millions of small and medium farmers across the country and only benefit the multi-national companies, city-based United Coalition Against Genetic Engineering (Uncage) today said that all stakeholders in agriculture and environment sectors must come forward to oppose the move.

The Bill, to be tabled in Parliament soon is not about ensuring quality seeds, the coalition said, but about harmonising Indian law with other seed laws around the world and to ensure that the Indian seeds market become open to big business houses including genetically modified (GM) seed manufacturers.

Calling the Bill `farmer friendly’ would be a blatant lie, termed the coalition.

Many discrepancies have been noted by the Standing Committee on Agriculture in its report on the proposed Seeds Bill on November 28, 2006.

However, it is not clear whether its recommendations have been incorporated, it said.

Seed inspectors have powers to search premises and seize sub-standard seeds. The Committee observed that the Bill does not ensure that seed inspectors do not misuse their powers by harassing farmers.

It stated that the inspectors should be allowed to search or break open premises only on written orders of a district collector or a magistrate.

However, farmers should be exempted since they are not authorised to sell any branded seeds, it observed.

The panel has also tried to safeguard the interests of the farmers and talked about the Plant Variety Protection and Farmers Rights Act, 2001 (PVP&FR Act) being fully operative before the Seeds Bill, 2004 is passed. It has also recommended stiff penalties in case the companyprovided seeds do not perform according to promises made, said leader from `Paschim Odisha Krushak Samanwaya Samiti’ Saroj Mohanty.

In fact, there is no need for the new Seeds Bill, 2004, as the Seeds Act, 1966, and the PVP&FR Act, 2001, make a good combination keeping in view the practices which are in accordance with the ground realities as far as our Indian agriculture is concerned, he explained.

But, besides the objective of seeking to put an end to sale of spurious and poor quality seeds, compensating affected farmers and providing stringent penalty for non-compliance of rules and regulations, all other objectives in the proposed Seeds Bill, 2004, are ‘questionable’ and ‘anti-farmer’, said rice breeder Natabara Sarangi.


Express News Service, 15 April, 2010, http://expressbuzz.com/states/orissa/seeds-bill-would-harm-millions-of-farmers/165460.html


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