Agriculture Sovereignty Ghana (ASG), a social movement that seeks to facilitate the formation and development of community and farmer-based organisations to enable them independently overcome their concerns, has kicked against the ARIPO Protocol recently signed in Arusha, Tanzania by 19 African countries.
At a press conference held in Accra, the grassroots movement also revealed that “the purpose of the ARIPO PVP Protocol is to make the Protocol apply to ARIPO member states by way of a regional PVP system that only favours commercial plant breeders while making it illegal for farmers to freely save, use, exchange and sell farm saved seed.”
The meeting with the media practitioners was held as part of activities to mark the start of a nationwide campaign against the ratification of the Plant Breeders Bill currently before the parliament of Ghana. Discussion over the bill was suspended following popular agitation from civil society organisations, student associations and professional bodies and faith based organization against it.
The full text of the statement is published below unedited;
AGRICULTURE SOVEREIGNTY GHANA PRESS CONFERENCE STATEMENT ON THE ARIPO PLANT VARIETY PROTECTION PROTOCOL
On 6th July, 2015 Ghana Government signed the ARIPO PVP Protocol in Arusha Tanzania, also known as The Arusha Protocol For The Protection Of New Varieties Of Plants within the Framework of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO)
19 African countries, who are member states of ARIPO adopted the Protocol which is based on UPOV 1991.
The ARIPO Protocol is a harmonized Plant Variety Protection law that is one of one law for all 19 countries who are members of ARIPO.
The purpose of the ARIPO PVP Protocol is to make the Protocol apply to ARIPO member states by way of a regional PVP system that only favours commercial plant breeders while making it illegal for farmers to freely save, use, exchange and sell farm saved seed of the PVP protected variety. Extremely wide powers are given to the ARIPO Office to grant very strong Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBRs) to commercial breeders. The intention is to replace and make national PBR offices redundant.
To make UPOV 1991 applicable in Ghana, Ghana Government initiated the passage of the Plant Breeders Bill (PBB). Well-meaning Ghanaians and Ghanaian Civil Societies resisted the passage of the PBB into law to the extent that Parliament was forced to suspend its further discussion and passage.
By signing the ARIPO PVP Protocol Arusha Tanzania, the President can have the easy task of domesticating UPOV 1991/PBB under Article 75 (1) of the 1992 Constitution of Ghana and subject it to ratification under Article 75(2) by a resolution supported by votes of one – half of all the members of Parliament. With the NDC government majority in Parliament, this will become easy. There are indications that the opposition NPP through statements made by its ranking member in Parliament on agriculture supports the introduction on GMO’s and its related issues in Ghana.
The opposition of the Agricultural Sovereignty of Ghana (ASG) to the PBB in its original form or as ratified ARIPO PVP Protocol remains unchanged.
It is still the view of ASG that UPOV 1991 and or its Ghanaian version labeled as PBB are inimical to the Sovereignty of Ghana and are not in the interest of Ghanaian agriculture.
The memorandum to the PBB states unambiguously that the PBB was being passed in Ghana to fulfill Ghana’s obligation to the WTO under its Trade Related Intellectual Property (TRIPS). However, the WTO rules allow Ghana to develop a sui generis PBR system to suit its own agriculture circumstances and does not prescribe that UPOV 1991 should be the model to be adopted.
ASG feels obliged to inform Ghanaians of some of the effects of the PBB and or the ARIPO PVP Protocol signed in Arusha Tanzania if it becomes law in Ghana.
Under the PBB or the ARIPO PVP Protocol any person, Ghanaian Breeder or foreign Breeder by himself or by employing a Ghanaian Breeder can take a seed from Ghana or anywhere in the world, use traditional or genetic engineering to transform it into a new, distinct uniform and stable seed (DUS) for example by inserting a genetic construct. The seed becomes a new plant variety. The Breeder then acquires a PBR to the variety as his/her own and control its use as a seed for planting, propagation, exchange, sale, export etc. For example Australia has taken cowpea seed from elsewhere, inserted the patented genetic construct, of Bacillus Thuringiensis (BT) gene into it to become Bt cowpea which has been tried in confined fields in Ghana by some CSIR Breeders and is in the process of being commercialized in Ghana. The CSIR breeders can claim a PBR on this Bt cowpea and charge farmers royalties for its use.
Under the PBB, a Ghanaian farmer cannot plant a bt or a new variety of cowpea where a PBR has been granted, harvest same, reserve some of the seeds and plant them the next planting season. The crop may grow but not yield but the replanting for sale of harvest locally or exchange of farm saved seed is not allowed. The farmer under the PBB, has to buy new seed every year to plant. This is not like the Cocoa Farmer who can give pods of his Amazonia Hybrid Cocoa to another farmer to nurse the seed and plant. This cannot be done under the PBB/ARIPO PVP Protocol
What is worst, under the PBB or ARIPO PVP Protocol the Seed Breeder, whether Ghanaian or foreigner has the right to register a PBR over the variety of seed and file a Statutory Declaration at the Registrar Generals Department of how much his seed will sell on the market. If the Breeder is a foreign investor, the profit earned at the end of the year is repatriated in foreign currency much the same way that the communication giants, MTN, Vodafone, Airtel, Tigo or the Mining companies repatriate their profit. How then can the Ghanaian cedis stabilize under these circumstances. The local Seed Breeders particularly some of the CSIR, and University of Ghana Nuclear Scientists and the seed merchants are very happy and supportive of the PBB because it will afford them the opportunity to be agents of the foreign agribusinesses to share the underserved profits obtained from our poor farmers.
Under the PBB, a farmer who dares to plant a seed, propagate, exchange a seed or export a seed in respect of which a PBR has been granted to the breeder without paying royalties to the breeder faces both civil and criminal prosecution. In civil action, a Breeder who feels aggrieved that the farmer has infringed his right over his seed by the bill if it becomes law go to court to ask for any of the following:
- An order of injunction to prevent the farmer to prevent the commission or continuation of the commission of infringement of his right
- Recovery of damages
- Forfeiture, seizure or destruction of the propagating or harvested material
- Obtain an order that empowers CEPS to detain the seeds imported or ready for export
- Any other remedy that the court may consider
Under the PBB, it is a criminal offence for a Ghanaian farmer to
- Offer for sale, sells or markets the Breeders registered seed protected under the PBB
- Markets the protected seed without the identification marks put on the seed by the Breeder
- Passes off a protected variety for another
A farmer who commits any of the above offences is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not more than two thousand penalty units( Ghc 24,000.00) or a term of imprisonment of not more than two years or to both.
What is also disconcerting is the fact that under the PBB, section 23 of the bill seems to elevate the Seed Breeder above the regulatory powers of the state. The reason being that Syngenta which now distributes vegetable seeds in Ghana or Arcadia currently engaged in confined field trials of rice, must have unfettered freedom to operate , make their profit and repatriate same without any hindrance, much the same way the mineral and mining law, and oil and gas laws protect the rape of our resources. The PBB extends the unbridled exploitation of our resources by foreign investors using Ghanaian agents from mining, oil and gas to plant varieties.
According to the PBB, the right of a Breeder to a plant variety registered in Ghana lasts for twenty years(20yrs) and twenty five years(25yrs) in the case of trees. Within this period no Ghanaian farmer can plant, multiply, export or import the registered seed without authority of the breeder who registered the seed.
It is the view of ASG that, giving the huge resources and muscle power of foreign agro businesses( supported by their governments) CSIR will suffer from attrition of scientist or Plant Breeders to the detriment of the country.
Ghana is rich in biodiversity. There are large varieties of seeds, vegetables; fruits and trees etc. Our farmers, over the years, through traditional biotechnology and seed selection have developed different types of seeds for different purposes. There are groundnuts ( peanuts) for vegetable oil, special ones for soups etc. So it is for other seeds and vegetables. The development GMO Seeds, patenting and commercialization under PBB, has the potential of pushing out our various types of seeds. One can observe cursorily, that the large mangoes, the hybrid oil palm fruits, perfume rice, new varieties of cassava are replacing our traditional varieties. Consider the economic effects of the loss of our biodiversity as a result of this insipid invasion of GMO Seeds under the framework of the PBB.
Traditional farmers in Ghana practice mixed farming. On a piece of land, the farmer grows maize, cassava, vegetables, plantain, legumes and fruits. The diversity prevents spread of pests and provides alternative food resources. The farmer has a variety to provide him nutrition. The diversity of plant variety has less debilitating effect on the soil.
The PBB fashioned on UPOV 1991, supports large scale mechanized mono-cultural agriculture with all its negative effects, spread of pests that require constant spraying, degradation and depletion of soil nutrients thus requiring large use of chemical fertilizers, use of weedicides like glysophate ( round-up) that according to WHO causes cancer and affects the environment negatively etc Glysophate or roundup can kill all plants except the GMO crop.
It was to demonstrate Ghana’s support for UPOV 1991 that President Mahama at the GN8A meeting in 2014, pledged 10,000 hectares of Ghana’s arable land to so called foreign investors for large scale agriculture. This open invitation to foreign agribusinesses together with the legal framework provided by the PBB has the potential to set in motion the process of land grabbing. Small scale farmers who hold tenure of the land would be pushed off the land to make way for large scale agriculture.
The PBB and the agricultural system upon which it is based is not in sync with Ghanaian agriculture. The PBB is based on the false notion that traditional agriculture is unscientific and unproductive. On the contrary, it has been demonstrated in Ghana by Operation Feed Yourself ( 1972 – 1975) cocoa production from 1879 to 2015 and production of traditional crops for export that with government support and incentive packages Ghana does not need PBB and UPOV 1991 to develop its agriculture.
What makes it strange is that WTO itself provides an alternative Sui Generis System which allows every country to fashion its own seed system to suit its agricultural and environment. Countries like Thailand, India and others have followed wise counsel and passed their own seed laws based on the “ sui generis”.
We of the ASG humbly request chiefs, family heads, Ghanaian farmers , all well-meaning CSO’s , Unions, youth groups, churches, Muslims, students, market women, traders and the generality of Ghanaians who value our independence and control of our plant resources to oppose the passage of PBB and or the domestication of UPOV 1991 into our body of laws.
Ghanaians we have nothing to lose but our chains. Join the nationwide campaign against the Plant Breeders Bill in parliament today!
……………………………
Raymond Okrofu Ategbi
Programmes Officer
Agriculture Sovereignty Ghana
Duke Tagoe
0265743484
0277776686
IMG 2496
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