Malaysian farmers warn of threats to country’s seed and food sovereignty

Scores of farmers, members of the indigenous communities, and activists in Malaysia joined to oppose the government’s move to join the International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plant (UPOV) on Tuesday, January 20 calling the move detrimental to the national interests.

Protesters mobilized by a coalition of farmers and civil society organizations led by Malaysia Food Sovereignty Forum (FKMM) and Malaysian Paddy Farmers Solidarity Association (PeSAWAH) shouted slogans such as “seed is not a commodity, it is the life of a farmer” and opposed the proposed amendments in the country’s Protection of New Varieties of Plants Act 2004.

The Malaysian ministry of agriculture and food security has proposed amendments in the country’s decades-old seed regulations in order to align the country’s law with the UPOV Convention. It is a necessary condition for membership to the organization based in Geneva.

Protesters denounced the UPOV calling it an organization solely formed under the pressure of European seed corporations to further their interests at the cost of the rights of farmers and indigenous people.

Protesters were addressed by several leaders who underlined the possible implications of the country joining the UPOV.

Speakers addressing the gathering in Kuala Lumpur asserted that surrendering to the dictates of the UPOV is compromising the country’s sovereignty and like willingly accepting the colonial rule.

Surrendering sovereignty 

According to a statement issued by the coalition, signing the UPOV 1991 convention is like surrendering sovereignty and crippling the government’s role.

“Any country wishing to join UPOV must first submit its national Plant Variety Protection (PVP) law to the UPOV Secretariat for review. UPOV will then recommend amendments to make that law consistent with the UPOV 1991 Act,” the statement points out.

The statement underlined that since “UPOV uses a rigid legal template that must be followed” by countries joining it will lead to complete surrender of government’s rights to intervene when needed to protect the rights of their farmers or local biodiversity.

This “undermines parliamentary sovereignty and restricts Malaysia’s policy space to safeguard national interests-including the rights of local farmers and the public at large.”

Activists claim that since Geneva based UPOV is neither a part of the UN nor attached to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Malaysian government’s move to join it makes no logical sense at all.

The coalition has also launched a signature campaign asking people to sign it so that the government is pressured to stop the legal process of amending the seeds law and start a wider consultation with farmers and other stakeholders on the matter.

Seed is not a commodity 

UPOV 1991 convention extends monopoly rights to plant breeders for 20-25 years and severely restricts “farmers’ rights — farmers are not free to save, use, exchange, or sell seeds harvested from their own fields,” the statement claims.

Joining the UPOV will also “criminalize the traditional and free exchange of seeds among farmers, Indigenous peoples, and communities,” harm local biodiversity and crop diversity, create corporate monopolies over seeds increasing their prices ultimately endangering food security in the country, the statement claims.

“Seeds are the first link in our food chain. When control over seeds is lost, our food sovereignty, culture, and health are put at risk. Communities that have protected and shared seeds for generations must not be criminalised” the statement reads.

Talking to Peoples Dispatch, Bawani KS, deputy secretary general of the Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) which supports the movement, said it is natural for people to be worried about the government’s move. Joining UPOV would only “expand agribusiness corporations’ monopoly while denying our farmers their right to use and share protected seeds.”

This ultimately would lead to “increased seed costs and food prices; heighten the risk of biopiracy; and undermine the rights of indigenous peoples and farmers” she underlined.

Asserting that all attempts to turn food into a commodity must be resisted by all, the coalition called for greater unity behind the movement.