Editorial and full issue by GRAIN | 30 Oct 2008 Seedling - October 2008 Download the whole issue of Seedling here, and read a summary of what's in this issue. Download the whole issue of Seedling here, and read a summary of what's in this issue.
Seed aid, agribusiness and the food crisis by GRAIN | 28 Oct 2008 Seedling - October 2008 The world food crisis, rapidly defined by those in power as a problem of insufficient production, has become a trojan horse to get corporate seeds, fertilisers and, surreptitiously, market systems into poor countries. As past experience shows, what looks like “seed aid” in the short term can mask what is actually “agribusiness aid” in the long term. We look at what is going on. The world food crisis, rapidly defined by those in power as a problem of insufficient production, has become a trojan horse to get corporate seeds, fertilisers and, surreptitiously, market systems into poor countries. As past experience shows, what looks like “seed aid” in the short term can mask what is actually “agribusiness aid” in the long term. We look at what is going on.
TRIPS - Close call in Geneva by GRAIN | 26 Oct 2008 Seedling - October 2008 The collapse of the WTO talks has somewhat unexpectedly created a further opportunity to fight a last ditch battle against the proposed patenting of life in the TRIPS Agreement. The patenting of life is a fundamental negation of the way in which countless generations of rural communities around the world have protected their biodiversity and handed down knowledge about it. Under their stewardship biodiversity and knowledge have evolved and adapted. Privatising these precious resources would threaten the very basis on which society has sustained itself for millennia. The collapse of the WTO talks has somewhat unexpectedly created a further opportunity to fight a last ditch battle against the proposed patenting of life in the TRIPS Agreement. The patenting of life is a fundamental negation of the way in which countless generations of rural communities around the world have protected their biodiversity and handed down knowledge about it. Under their stewardship biodiversity and knowledge have evolved and adapted. Privatising these precious resources would threaten the very basis on which society has sustained itself for millennia.
Seized: The 2008 landgrab for food and financial security by GRAIN | 24 Oct 2008 Land Today's food and financial crises have, in tandem, triggered a new global landgrab. On the one hand, “food insecure” governments that rely on imports to feed their people are snatching up vast areas of farmland abroad for their own offshore food production. On the other hand, food corporations and private investors, hungry for profits in the midst of the deepening financial crisis, see investment in foreign farmlands as an important new source of revenue. As a result, fertile agricultural lands are becoming increasingly privatised and concentrated. If left unchecked, this global landgrab could spell the end of small scale farming, and rural livelihoods, in numerous places around the world. Today's food and financial crises have, in tandem, triggered a new global landgrab. On the one hand, “food insecure” governments that rely on imports to feed their people are snatching up vast areas of farmland abroad for their own offshore food production. On the other hand, food corporations and private investors, hungry for profits in the midst of the deepening financial crisis, see investment in foreign farmlands as an important new source of revenue. As a result, fertile agricultural lands are becoming increasingly privatised and concentrated. If left unchecked, this global landgrab could spell the end of small scale farming, and rural livelihoods, in numerous places around the world.
Resisting transnationals: the experience of farming families in south-west Benin by JINUKUN, Synergie Paysanne, GRAIN | 24 Oct 2008 Seedling - October 2008 For several decades now, the multinationals have been trying, one way or another, to control the way Africa uses its genetic resources, especially its seeds. Among the strategies they have used has been: to introduce chemical inputs, with all the problems these create; to sponsor national and/or regional laws, mostly copied from European models; and to implement programmes such as the US-backed African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the Millennium Challenge Account. Local communities, however, are resisting in a calm and dignified manner by transmitting from generation to generation their own cultural practices. Some examples gathered during a trip to south-west Benin show how communities are still able to control their seed use and to manage their genetic resources. For several decades now, the multinationals have been trying, one way or another, to control the way Africa uses its genetic resources, especially its seeds. Among the strategies they have used has been: to introduce chemical inputs, with all the problems these create; to sponsor national and/or regional laws, mostly copied from European models; and to implement programmes such as the US-backed African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the Millennium Challenge Account. Local communities, however, are resisting in a calm and dignified manner by transmitting from generation to generation their own cultural practices. Some examples gathered during a trip to south-west Benin show how communities are still able to control their seed use and to manage their genetic resources.
Ulrich Oslender by Interview by GRAIN | 22 Oct 2008 Seedling - October 2008 Ulrich Oslender, a political geographer at the University of Glasgow, has carried out research into social movements and spaces of resistance in Latin America. He currently works as an EU-funded Marie Curie Research Fellow investigating the forced displacement of Afro-Colombians from Colombia’s Pacific coast region, which he explains through a methodological framework he calls “geographies of terror”. Since the mid-1990s, he has conducted extensive fieldwork in Colombia and has worked closely with the social movement of the country’s black communities. He can be reached at: [email protected] Ulrich Oslender, a political geographer at the University of Glasgow, has carried out research into social movements and spaces of resistance in Latin America. He currently works as an EU-funded Marie Curie Research Fellow investigating the forced displacement of Afro-Colombians from Colombia’s Pacific coast region, which he explains through a methodological framework he calls “geographies of terror”. Since the mid-1990s, he has conducted extensive fieldwork in Colombia and has worked closely with the social movement of the country’s black communities. He can be reached at: [email protected]
Lessons from a Green Revolution in South Africa by GRAIN | 20 Oct 2008 Seedling - October 2008 The latest rescue plan for Africa is another Green Revolution. GRAIN, alongside a host of others, has written and commented extensively on the Alliance for a Green Revolution for Africa (AGRA) and the impact it will have on the continent. In the meantime, this model of a Green Revolution has already been implemented for the past five years in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It provides us with a case study and an indication of the likely outcome of such an approach in other parts of Africa. The latest rescue plan for Africa is another Green Revolution. GRAIN, alongside a host of others, has written and commented extensively on the Alliance for a Green Revolution for Africa (AGRA) and the impact it will have on the continent. In the meantime, this model of a Green Revolution has already been implemented for the past five years in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It provides us with a case study and an indication of the likely outcome of such an approach in other parts of Africa.
Seeds for tomorrow by GRAIN | 19 Oct 2008 Seedling - October 2008 UBINIG in Bangladesh not only helps in the exchange of rice varieties, but also in the breeding of local animals such as chickens and cows. UBINIG in Bangladesh not only helps in the exchange of rice varieties, but also in the breeding of local animals such as chickens and cows.
Sustainable agricultural experiences shared in LEISA Magazine by GRAIN | 18 Oct 2008 Seedling - October 2008
Biodiversidad - Seedling's sister magazine in Latin America by GRAIN | 14 Oct 2008 Seedling - October 2008
Food exports and free trade agreements by GRAIN | 10 Oct 2008 In FTAs little attention is paid to clauses like the following one: "... no Party may adopt or maintain any prohibition or restriction on the importation of any good of another Party or on the exportation or sale for export of any good destined for the territory of another Party...". In other words, governments know that they are renouncing their right to control food exports and imports when they sign FTAs. In FTAs little attention is paid to clauses like the following one: "... no Party may adopt or maintain any prohibition or restriction on the importation of any good of another Party or on the exportation or sale for export of any good destined for the territory of another Party...". In other words, governments know that they are renouncing their right to control food exports and imports when they sign FTAs.