22nd Nov., 2004

STATEMENT FROM FARMERS ORGANISATIONS ON THE SEED SOVEREIGNTY AND THE 3RD PATENT AMENDMENT ACT, 2004

1. The 2nd Patent Amendment Act has already surreptitiously removed “plants” from the exemptions in the scope of patentability thus opening the flood gates on patenting of plants.

2. The 3rd Patent Amendment Bill on the ‘Product Patent’ when combined with the 2nd Amendment will thus allow patent monopoly on the seeds collecting royalty from our already impoverished farmers who have been pushed to suicides as a result of indebtedness because of the high cost of seeds and other inputs.

3. The Government announcement to create a new Seed Authority to prevent the distribution of non-registered seeds and evolve a “Police State” and “Inspector Raj” to control farmers, deny them their freedom and sovereignty is unacceptable to us, while leaving the Seed Industries deregulated and free to sell untested, hazardous, spurious and genetically modified seeds the government is creating a new Seed Authority to control the farmers to benefit seed / pharmaceutical industry.

4. The Government has totally failed to stop the epidemic of biopiracy. It took a coalition of citizen groups including Bharat Krishak Samaj, Greenpeace and the Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology (RFSTE) to revoke a Monsanto patent on the Indian variety of Wheat “Nap Hal” in the European Patent Office (EPO) recently. The product patent monopolies combined with biopiracy will allow MNC’s monopolies on what they have stolen from our farmers.

5. Farmers organizations, both political and non-political give a call to all their members to prepare for a “Bija Satyagraha” and do not cooperate with the 3rd Patent Amendment Bill creating product patent monopolies on seeds in the hands of the MNC’s as well as the Seeds Authority which is creating an ‘Inspector Raj’ and ‘Police State’ to rob us of our fundamental freedom. Seed Sovereignty ( Bija Swaraj) ) is our birth right. Neither the government nor the MNC’s can rob our birth right from us. We stand committed to defend farmers’ freedom and farmers’ rights.

6. We call on the members of Parliament from all political parties who have come to Parliament on farmers vote not to betray their mandate and stand for farmers rights and break the conspiracy of silence that will allow passage of the 3rd Amendment bill, 2004.

Signed by:

Dr. Vandana Shiva
Dr. Krishanbir Choudhury
Mr. Shafiqul Hasan Zaidi
Mr. Ram Tiket

Date:
Place:

Navdanya
Bharat Krishak Samaj
Bharat Kisan Mazdoor Welfare Association
Bharatiya Kisan Union

22nd November 2004
India International Centre, New Delhi