Alliance Urges India to Safeguard Seed Sovereignty Amid Treaty Amendments

The India Seed Sovereignty Alliance has petitioned PM Narendra Modi to oppose proposed amendments to an international seed treaty that may undermine India's seed rights. They urge resistance to expanding free global seed access, citing risks to farmers' interests and national sovereignty. The Alliance calls for stronger tracking and farmers' rights mechanisms.

The India Seed Sovereignty Alliance has issued an urgent appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, advising against supporting proposed amendments to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture (ITPGRFA). The revisions could potentially compromise India's seed sovereignty and farmer rights.

The Alliance's appeal focuses on concerns over amendments that extend the multilateral system of free global access beyond the existing crops to all plant genetic resources and their Digital Sequence Information (DSI). This move, they argue, threatens the Global South's ecological and cultural resource management.

The Alliance suggests that nations of the Global South should reject the proposed changes, emphasizing the need for comprehensive farmers' rights, stricter regulatory measures on DSI, and prevention of patent misuse. Concerns over the implementation of current laws and the potential impact of India's new Seed Bill and deregulation of genetically engineered seeds were also highlighted.

(With inputs from agencies.)