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Some farmer groups have opposed the plant variety protection bill, which was approved by Parliament on Wednesday, November 4, 2020.
Among them are the Farmers Association, the General Agricultural Workers Union (GAWU), the Food Sovereignty of Ghana (FSG), the Ghanaian Vegetarian Association (VAG) and the Rastafarian Council of Ghana.
Farmer groups say the bill, which was reintroduced in Parliament 2020, was made without taking into account any of the objections raised against it over the past seven years.
In an interview with Citi Business NewsEdward Kariwe, general secretary of the General Union of Agricultural Workers, said the bill, which was first presented to Parliament as the Plant Breeding Project, undermines Ghana’s sovereignty and will weaken the agricultural sector in general.
“Due to ecological differences, a uniform seed does not necessarily apply everywhere, so it allows for diversity. What this bill will cause is that now there will be uniformity and with uniformity, it will kill diversity. So, this Plant Variety Protection Bill seeks to introduce something of that nature and destroy the ecosystem and biodiversity. When biodiversity is destroyed, there are many more living organisms that also depend on the existing ecosystem and that disempowers everyone and will undermine the ability of this country to produce our own food and ensure food security, “he said.
The purpose of the plant variety protection bill is to establish a legal framework to protect the rights of breeders of new varieties of plants or groups of plants; and promoting the improvement of new varieties of plants to improve the quantity, quality and cost of food, fuel and raw materials for the industry.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the bill also seeks to recognize the achievements of breeders of new varieties by making an exclusive right available to them based on a set of uniform or clearly defined principles.
Although the content of the bill is still unknown to farmers, Edward Kariwe believes that the bill after the president passes it will not be beneficial to the common farmer, as it does not allow farmers to sell and exchange seeds of varieties. protected. .
“This bill still seeks to make it criminal for a farmer to transfer the seeds to his brother after having acquired the seed from the so-called commercial seed producer because that particular commercial farmer has a patent right on it. This patent right obliges you not to transfer it. If you transfer it, it becomes a crime, “he explained.
Talking to Citi Business NewsThe national president of the Ghana Peasants Association, Abdul-Rahman Mohammed, also accused Parliament of betraying them and threatened to do so; They will explore all possible avenues to ensure that the plight of farmers is addressed in the bill.
“We have made attempts to appeal to the government since 2013 asking them not to pass the bill because it will not help us, it will only benefit foreign companies, not Ghanaian companies. We will continue to defend our cause. My request to President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo is that he not accept the bill. It is not too late, although we think that Parliament has disappointed because we elected them to represent us, ”he said.
– citinewsroom
