Economic imperialism of the worst kind has hit Iraq with transgenic crops being forced on the population. Saving seed as a tradition and a necessary way of life for Iraq’s farmers and subsistence gardeners has been outlawed.
For thousands of years, farmers have saved the seeds of one year’s crops to be planted the following year. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, in 2002, 97 percent of Iraqi farmers used seeds saved from the previous year’s harvest. They have also bred natural varieties of crops, particularly wheat, barley and dates, to be better suited to their particular climate zones.
This fundamentally natural approach to farming has been a cornerstone of their agricultural system; it has preserved their agricultural heritage and been an economic necessity. Now that’s all changed as a new patent law enacted by the US does not allow Iraqi farmers to save their own seed and forces them to buy seed from government-approved seed companies.
During the US occupation of Iraq, administrator Paul Bremer decreed 100 orders pertaining to Iraq’s economic, political and social future. These orders are now in place until revised or repealed by a new Iraqi regime. Since the new Iraqi government is tied to the US government, it is not expected to be revising Bremer’s orders any time soon.
Order 81 is a new patent law that includes a chapter on plant variety protection. The gist of this chapter is that Iraqi farmers are now only allowed to plant “protected” crop varieties defined as new, distinct, uniform and stable. The heritage seeds Iraqi farmers have been saving since the time of Babylon do not meet these criteria; those that do are products of multi-national seed companies and include transgenic seeds. In addition, this order gives plant breeders that claim to have discovered the new varieties the exclusive rights to all production and sales of the “protected” varieties in seed and harvested plant form.
This monopoly will last 20 years for crop varieties and 25 for trees and vines. Basically, it gives the large biotech companies control over Iraq’s seed trade and thus, a significant part of their agricultural system. Furthermore, it forces Iraqi farmers to become dependant on these companies. These amendments are not at all in line with Iraq’s previous patent law, which prohibited private ownership of biological resources.
This will affect those of us outside of Iraq too. If the biotech companies introduce GE wheat in Iraq, it will spread worldwide over time; transgenic pollution will contaminate regular wheat and related crops because pollen transfer cannot be controlled. Transfer of unwanted genetic material from transgenic canola and corn for instance is out of control in producing countries where “clean” certified seed is no longer available.
In Iraq, all this is being touted as “agricultural reconstruction.” The officials who enacted this law claim it is to ensure Iraq has a steady supply of good quality seeds and to make it easier for it to become a member of the WTO. They then tie this in to their goal of claiming to help better feed the citizens of Iraq.
Hmmm. Iraqi farmers previously used seeds they had specifically designed for their growing conditions. North American and European members of the WTO do not have to abide by similar restrictions on seed use. Hunger has so far not been solved in any other under-privileged country by corporate control of that country’s seed market. It seems clear that this is actually about the control and commercialization of Iraq’s agriculture system, not about helping the Iraqi people.
It is no coincidence that the US agriculture department, which aided Bremer in writing Order 81, was headed by ex-management of the huge US seed and biotech companies, such as Monsanto and Cargill. Ann Veneman, who recently resigned as US secretary of agriculture, had a long career working for large US agribusinesses before going to work for the government. So did Dan Amstutz who headed Iraq’s agricultural reconstruction.
Sadly, Iraq is not the first country to have to deal with this sort of totalitarian tragedy. Variations on the situation have already taken place in other poor countries that rely on aid from wealthier countries: Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Cambodia are a few. Never do these regulations reflect the will of the local people.
While it is true that Iraq was not the most agriculturally efficient country before the US invasion, this dictatorship-style approach is no way to improve the situation. It simply puts the power into corporate hands and puts the farmers into a poorer situation. After years of suffering through a trade embargo, Iraq needs access to new machinery, as well as funding and management advice. It also needs to continue to build on the work farmers have already done breeding crops appropriate to their climate. And on a moral level, Iraqis simply need the right to make their own decisions about food and agricultural policies. Without any of these, the Iraqi people will never be free and never be able to feed themselves.
Marya Skrypiczajko is the author of BC the Organic Way – Where to Find Organic Food in British Columbia. For more visit www.bctheorganicway.com
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