THE Tanzania Organic Agriculture Movement (TOAM) has trashed the article making rounds on the internet suggesting that ‘farmers are facing heavy prison sentences if they continue their traditional seed exchange,’ categorically terming the article as malicious and unfounded.
The article, trending on the internet,
provides a misleading and incorrect statement involving Tanzanian
farmers for selling uncertified seed or seeds that are protected under
the current Tanzanian Plant Breeders Rights legislation.
The author, according to the statement
issued yesterday by the TOAM, misleadingly indicated that in 2014,
Tanzania enacted a Plant Breeders’ Right Act, which among others,
disregarded the contributions of small-scale farmers, marginalises their
varieties and adversely impacts on their interests and livelihoods as
it severely restricts farmers from engaging in their customary practices
of freely sharing, exchanging and selling seeds.
The media statement issued by the
movement and signed by its Communications Advisor, Mr Constantine
Akitanda, said that a staff and member who responded to the interview
was summoned and confirmed to have made reference to African Centre for
Biodiversity study reports with opinion of having negative implication
to smallholders’ farmer seed system, indigenous knowledge on seed and
seed exchange as the Act is silence about the issues.
“The TOAM would like to inform members
of the public and particularly all key stakeholders in the seed industry
that the information contained in the article are misleading and
contain false statements,” reads the press release in part.
The statement further affirmed that the
Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, even clarified
recently that it is not true that the government has passed any law that
criminalises the farmers as intentionally and negligently suggested by
the publishers of the article.
“It should be clearly understood that
the Tanzania law governing Plant Breeders’ Right was enacted in 2012 and
not in 2014 as asserted by the authors. As internationally recognised,
this law is a private law dealing with rights of the breeders or
developers of new plant varieties.
The only general penalty provided by
violators of the law is on section 49 (2) of the law which is
imprisonment only up to one year or fine not exceeding 10m/-,” said the
statement.
The TOAM warned the authors to delete
the article immediately from the internet or else the movement will
initiate any possible legal remedy.
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