Seed Rights and Seed Sovereignty

Seed is the beginning of Life. It is a critical input in agriculture. Modern agriculture has managed to convert Seed from being a singular input into a medium for pushing a package of inputs onto hapless farmers. Seed has been commodified into an input on which corporations are able to flourish, including by securing IPRs on the same. ASHA seeks to ensure that individual farmers and farming communities are self-reliant and autonomous when it comes to Seed. It seeks to make sure that Farmers’ Seed Rights as contained in India’s laws  like PPV&FR Act 2011 are protected and upheld. ASHA was in the forefront when MNC Pepsico India Holdings threatened farmers’ rights over seed and thwarted that attempt successfully. ASHA has been influencing the debate related to a new Seeds legislation in India for regulation of commercial seed trade (Seeds Bills).  ASHA has also been resisting the entry of GM seeds in India, given the threat that such a technology poses to farmers’ seed sovereignty. ASHA tried to resist the consolidation in the seed industry when Bayer took over Monsanto, by presenting its arguments to the CCI.