Status report from the African Centre for Biodiversity asesses impact of harmonized seed regulations on small farmers

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A new status report, researched and written by Linzi Lewis and Sabrina Masinjila of the African Centre for Biodiversity, reviews the seed harmonization efforts of the South African Development Community (SADC), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) and the East African Community (EAC). Seed harmonization efforts focus on the regulation of seed laws across Eastern and Southern Africa to facilitate trade through formal markets. Seed harmonization focuses on three areas: variety testing, registration and release, seed certification and phytosanitary measures. All of these procedures present significant financial barriers to small farmers to enter these formal markets. Historically, smallholder farmers have used farmer managed seed systems (FMSS) to access and trade local varieties. These systems still remain vital today, as roughly 90% of seeds are sourced from informal systems, and 60% come from local markets. It’s clear that these seed harmonization efforts are another extension of Green Revolution ideology, meant to facilitate the trade of corporate seeds and benefit large agribusiness while ignoring the importance of farmer managed seed systems.
Read and download the full report from the African Center for Biodiversity here: https://acbio.org.za/status-report-sadc-comesa-eac-harmonised-seed-trade-regulations-leave-regions-smallholder-farmers/?utm_source=phplist71&utm_medium=email&utm_content=HTML&utm_campaign=Status+report+on+the+SADC%2C+COMESA+and+EAC+harmonised+seed+trade+regulations%3A+Where+does+this+leave+the+regions%E2%80%99+smallholder+farmers%3F

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