Labelling and certification
Whose harvest? The politics of organic seed certification
Are seed certification schemes pushing organic farming towards corporate control?
Authors:
Publisher:
GRAIN, 2008
As the market for organic goods continues to grow, seed corporations are increasingly pushing for organic seed certification schemes, which some argue could create market opportunities for small farmers. But will the new regulations governing seeds pushing organics even further down the road of corporate control? This briefing provides the first global overview of regulations concerning seeds in organic farming and assesses what such regulations mean to the future of organic farming and the millions of farmers who sustain it.
Millions of farmers around the world practice organic agriculture, but currently only a small portion of what they produce is labeled as certified organic. The briefing describes how, as the global market for organic foods continues to grow, seed corporations are increasingly pushing for organic seed certification schemes that make it mandatory for organic farmers to use their seeds. It argues that such schemes threaten to take organic farming further down the road of industrialised export-oriented farming, making it even harder for small-scale farmers to participate.
In particular, the briefing warns that company-sponsored organic certification schemes could:
- block farmer-based seed systems from access to organic markets, and transfer the seed supply for organic farming into the hands of the few large seed corporations
- lead to a rise in seed prices
- narrow genetic diversity, since these seed corporations focus on the development of hybrids and other uniform varieties.
The briefing points to various examples that show farmers to be highly capable of collectively looking after their own seed needs, without the private sector or formal certification. If argues that, if organics is to survive as a meaningful concept for small-scale farmers and local food systems, it should stop the imposition of organic seed certification standards, turn away from the corporate seed system on offer, and unite with others in sustaining, improving and expanding the wealth of diverse, farmer-led seed systems sprouting up everywhere.
