Peasants’ Right to Seeds: A Solution to the Food, Climate and Biodiversity Crise

Peasants’ Right to Seeds: A Solution to the Food, Climate and Biodiversity Crise

Seed Treaty meeting in Bali
Seed farmers from all over the world, members of La Via Campesina, a global peasants' movement, will participate in the Fourth Regular Session of the Governing Body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (GB4ITPGFRA). During a series of meetings, seminars and events, they will represent seed farmers from all over the world who are the backbone of food production and the main creators and defenders of biodiversity. Some of the dates include:

Field visit, 9 March (morning): A visit to traditional farmers who conserve local varieties in Balinese terrace fields (in Jati Luwi)
Press Conference, 10 March 2011, 11 am, Goodway Hotel, Nusa Dua, Bali -"The Via Campesina Global Campaign on the Exchange of Peasant Seeds"
The Via Campesina Seed Fair, 11-15 March 2011, Westin Hotel, Nusa Dua, Bali
The International Peoples Forum on Seeds, 12 March, Westin Hotel, Nusa Dua, Bali (with 100 seed farmers from around Asia and other parts of the world).

This grass roots organisation representing millions of peasant farmers and landholders across the world endorses the importance to saving seeds. While for us this here in our comfortable western society the right to seed saving is  is not a life or death struggle, but for many farmers if they dont save their own or a diversity of seeds to withstand many seasonal conditions, their income, health and societies are affected. Food for thought ha? but what is on our front pages AFL sex scandals.........

Seed are culture and the storage of history. Seed are the first link to agriculture and food systems. Seeds are the ultimate symbol of Food Sovereignty - Dr Vandana Shiva

Considering that small and family farming, which represent most of the world's farmers, are best placed to: meet their dietary needs and those of populations, ensuring food security and sovereignty of countries, provide employment to rural populations and maintain economic life in rural areas, key to a balanced territorial development,produce with respect to the environment and to the conservation of natural resources for future generations;

Considering that recent massive land grabs targeting tens of millions of acres for the benefit of private interests or third states - whether for reasons of food, energy, mining, environment, tourism, speculation or geopolitics - violate human rights by depriving local, indigenous, peasants, pastoralists and fisher communities of their livelihoods, by restricting their access to natural resources or by removing their freedom to produce as they wish, and exacerbate the inequalities of women in access and control of land;