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| “Just as the (Ecuadorian) State is a partner of Syngenta, Monsanto, Agripac and Ecuaquímica, should be a partner of peasant organizations, seed networks and other similar groups." Javier Carrera, from the Seed Guardians Network |
They say that the country's agricultural genetic diversity is in danger if the law is approved. In Ecuador, food production has historically been based on peasant seeds (also known as native or criolla) which play a vital role in national agriculture and are adapted not only to local environmental conditions, but also to the social and cultural needs of the people.
According to the MilHojas Foundation, the exchange of seeds would be affected, since the most worrying aspect of this law is the control that the State wants to have over the seed, through:
to) Certification systems, which would involve "meeting requirements that are unattainable for small farmers who provide more than 60% of the basic basket consumed in Ecuador"; and
b) by declaring native seeds as the heritage of the State and not of the people as it is currently.
Does this mean that all non-native seeds must be certified, or that all circulating seeds must be certified?
On the first point, the bill classifies seeds as native and certified, ignoring the fact that there is a wide range of different types of seeds that are used by farmers or medium-sized producers throughout the country and that do not fall under these two classifications.
This is the case of rice seeds, for example. Rice is not a crop native to the American continent, but it is part of the basic diet of Ecuadorians. Rice farmers have developed their varieties adapted to local conditions to feed the entire population of the country, but we cannot say that they are native seeds, nor are they certified or registered in any official registration system.
What will happen to this type of seeds? Will their circulation be banned?
The text states that any person (natural, legal, public, private or community) may produce seeds with the authorization of the National Agrarian Authority (Art. 27), and must register with the National Agrarian Authority.
Will the circulation of non-certified seed be authorized? What requirements must the seed meet to be certified?
According to the proposed text, certified seed is that which “has complied with the technical process of control of methods, production and processing processes” “that allows maintaining and ensuring its genetic, physical, physiological and phytosanitary identity” (Art. 24), and must be registered in the National Registry of Cultivars. The seed must have a high degree of identity and genetic purity, meeting the standards established by the national agricultural authority (Art. 25).
Certified seed is intended for industrial production, where it is essential to have homogeneous production to facilitate sowing, harvesting and a uniform final product, planned for a specialized market.
Will these seeds be able to obtain certification? Possibly not, because it is very possible that they do not have “genetic purity” and do not meet the requirements needed to be certified; therefore, they are destined for extinction, leaving the international seed companies with the path to control this abandoned market.
At present, there are five companies that control the world seed market, the same ones that do not currently play a very important role in Ecuador's agricultural and food production, but that, if this text is adopted, could occupy the niche that will be usurped from local seed producers.
The National Agrarian Authority will implement a system to control the production, use and marketing of seeds ("to ensure their quality"), and will have the support of the National Police (Art. 40). In this way, non-certified seeds will be criminalized.
There is already an important precedent in this regard, when in Colombia, the government had thousands of tons of rice seeds burned because they were not registered seeds. Due to this fact, small and medium producers throughout the country were mobilized.
In relation to native seeds, the bill defines them as “natural information and all sexual and asexual reproductive material that maintains its reproductive capacity that has been domesticated, preserved, raised, cared for, used and exchanged by producers, communities, peoples and nationalities according to their diverse knowledge and cultures” (Art. 21).
Reducing the seed to “natural information” is turning it into a mere commodity, which is far from the concept and value that a large sector of the Ecuadorian peasantry gives it today.
The value of native seeds for indigenous and peasant agriculture is unquestionable, but now they are given a value that is related to the “information” that they contain; information that can be used by industry, regardless of the cultural history that these seeds embody. That is why the text speaks of “phytogenetic resources.” And that is why the bill declares native seeds to be the heritage of the State (Art. 22).
Let us remember that native seeds are the fruit of the innovative work of communities throughout history. These have been developed thanks to the creative work of women and men over generations, without any participation or support from the State; on the contrary, they have been persecuted in many cases, and native seeds have been described as inefficient and primitive. Their greatest value lies in the “information” contained (possibly in the genes) of these seeds.
The idea behind this proposal is probably to extract the valuable genetic information (for industry) contained in the seed, so that it can be used in conventional or transgenic genetic improvement programs or for other industrial applications. Then, through a system of “equitable benefit sharing,” the communities that are custodians of these seeds will be compensated, as established in Art. 9.c. on “farmers’ rights.”
Regarding genetically modified seeds, the project specifies, above the explicit constitutional prohibition on transgenic seeds (Art. 15 and 401 of the Constitution), that these will be prohibited if they do not comply with the legal requirements.
If you are a real activist and not just on Facebook, sign up with the provincial delegations to participate in the Public Hearings for the debate on the Seed Law. Your participation is important.
Given this scenario, the Agroecological Collective of Ecuador (1) clearly sets out the following demands:
1. Seeds must continue to be the heritage of the people at the service of humanity, and the State must act as guarantor of this right, but not as owner, as is proposed.
2. The free flow of seeds must be ensured, as mandated by Article 281.6 of the Constitution.
3. Widespread use of peasant and native seeds should be promoted as the basis of our food sovereignty.
4. We refuse the illegalization and persecution of peasant and native seeds, and other non-certified seeds, and the imposition of phytosanitary protection measures for access to and exchange of native seeds.
5. We reject any attempt to legalize transgenic seeds, which endanger human health, ecosystems, and public control of genetic resources, as well as national and international markets. As a result, it is necessary to comply with the constitutional mandate that declares Ecuador a country free of transgenic seeds and crops.
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| Ecuasem, an organization that has Syngenta as partners and Monsanto is actively participating in the Seed Law project. |
6. We request that the draft law submitted by COPISA, which was already debated in 2012 and represents the consensus of the interests of more than 500 organizations that participated in extensive debates and discussions on the draft law, be reconsidered.
7. It is essential to establish policies to promote healthy, sustainable and equitable agro-food systems in the country, such as agroecology, to address poverty, increasing malnutrition, and climate change associated with agricultural modernization and agriculture dependent on high external inputs and uncompetitive markets, whether local or distant.
To read the full text of the updated draft Organic Law on Agrobiodiversity and Seeds
This is the link of the Provincial addresses of the CNE where you can register to participate in the Public Hearings.
The schedule of hearings is:
Tuesday, October 25 Cotopaxi and Santa Elena
Wednesday, October 26 Tungurahua and Los Rios
Thursday, October 27 Chimborazo and Guayas
Friday 28th October Pichincha
Tuesday, November 8th El Oro and Carchi
Wednesday November 9th Imbabura
Thursday November 10th Sucumbíos
Friday 11 November Orellana and Morona Santiago
Tuesday, November 15th, Manabí
Wednesday November 16th Esmeraldas
Friday November 18 Galapagos
Tuesday, November 22, Azuay
Wednesday November 23 Napo
Thursday November 24 Zamora Chinchipe and Pastaza
Friday November 25th Loja and Bolivar
(1) The National Agroecological Collective - which defines itself as an organization that works in defense of food sovereignty, native seeds and public control of production - has questioned the strong process of appropriation of agricultural seeds by private interests, particularly multinational corporations for more than 50 years: This is done with the support of the State, with the development of related legislation that is coupled with the dynamics of agro-exporters, where native and Creole seeds are replaced by hybrid, high-yield and transgenic seeds, which are subject to complicated registration and certification systems, which are discriminatory to native seeds.
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