2009 Annual Report
Cultivating Diversity
Farmers have always saved seeds at harvest time for the next planting season. These seeds, selected over generations, are adapted to local growing conditions, allowing farmers to cope with changing climatic conditions and pest outbreaks.
For these reasons, farmers are resisting pressure from governments and multinational companies to use genetically modified (GM) seeds, which increases costs, threatens biodiversity, and heightens crop vulnerability. In West Africa, the Coalition for the Protection of African Genetic Heritage (COPAGEN) represents millions of small-scale farmers and is involved in educating farmers, urban communities, and politicians about the consequences of genetic engineering in agriculture. This work is leading to positive results. The government of Benin, for example, recently renewed a five-year moratorium on the introduction of genetically modified crops.
In Canada, a national biotechnology strategy created in 1983 promised greater crop yields, reduced pesticide use, and better returns for farmers. Three decades later, these promises remain unfulfilled. Farmers are more dependent on expensive seeds and chemicals, pesticide use is at an all-time high, and farm incomes remain low. Last December, Devlin Kuyek, advisor to the Canadian Biotechnology Action Network (CBAN), testified before the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agrifoods. Devlin noted that a deliberate policy shift has converted a formerly public seed system to a private one under the control of a very small number of corporations, most of them pesticide companies outside of Canada. This policy shift has meant a decrease in public plant breeding programs, and the introduction of corporate patents on seeds, making it difficult or impossible for farmers to save their own seeds.
CBAN brings farmers, scientists, and social justice activists together to educate the public and decision-makers about these issues. CBAN is calling for greater transparency and public accountability over food and agriculture policies. Recently, Inter Pares, CBAN and other Canadian groups launched the People’s Food Policy Project to provide a forum for Canadians to discuss problems in our national food system and develop a proposal for a national food policy.
You can find more information here 
about CBAN, and about the People’s Food Policy Project.
| Reviewed April 27, 2010 |  |
Publishing Policies |
