Small Farmers Pushed to Plant GM Seed

[nosmokes]

If you think Big Oil controlling the energy supply is bad, wait until Big Ag has a stranglehold on the food supply.

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original-ips

AGRICULTURE-SOUTH AFRICA: Small Farmers Pushed to Plant GM Seed

By Kristin Palitza

DURBAN, Jul 21 (IPS) - Baphethile Mntambo has been farming organically for the past five years because she knows that avoiding chemicals will in the long-term benefit her yield. She decided not to plant genetically modified seeds because she has heard that they cannot be saved for the next season and will eventually deplete her soil. But she is not entirely sure how and why.

"I have heard about GMO, but I don't understand what it is exactly," she says. "The only thing I know is that it will cost a lot of money to buy the seeds, the fertiliser and the pesticides."

Mntambo is one of 50 small-scale farmers in the Valley of a Thousand Hills in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province who have been taught how to farm organically by non-governmental organisation Valley Trust. The farmers learn to plant seasonal crops that will provide their families both with food security and an opportunity to generate income by selling their produce at local markets.

"We decided to promote organic farming to create sustainability for small-scale farmers. We believe it is the only way to give them food sovereignty and stability," explains Valley Trust food security facilitator Nhlanhla Vezi.

The Valley Trust used to cooperate with the Department of Agriculture, according to Vezi, but the collaboration ceased when the department started to put pressure on small-scale farmers to form cooperatives if they wanted its support. "The Department makes very attractive offers to provide farming equipment, water piping and seeds, but then uses this as a strategy to push GMO because of agreements they have signed with multinational GM seed patent holders," says Vezi.

Rural farmers are often lured into planting GM seeds by the Department of Agriculture by promises of substantial bank loans and the prospect of huge earnings, agrees Lesley Liddell, director of Biowatch, an NGO promoting alternatives to GMO farming by encouraging farmers to inter-crop, use natural fertilisers and non-chemical crops. "But in the end, most farmers end up in huge debt, because they can't save seeds and are obliged to buy the matching GM fertilisers and pesticides."

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complete article here

[mainegreen]

1. There is a war to control food going on.

Big business is winning in the poorer parts of the world.

In western society it's apparently come to a stalemate.

[Megahurtz]

2. Monsanto

bought up all of the seed companies and are doing this to help facilitate the NWO agenda.

Just like Henry Kissinger said "Food is a weapon". Now they're going after the food supply.

These evil fucks will try to get their tentacles in everything.

[defendandprotect]

3. What else could the concept of this non-repeating seed be but monopoly and greed . . .

all put in place by the aggressive methods of this company ---

and I wonder if it is even more than aggressive ?

[elehhhhna]

6. Its yeilds are lower than "normal" seeds,too, btw. Just wait until the Traders

(traitors?) start trading monsanto seed "futures", as they do with oil now. Then we're all screwn.

[defendandprotect]

13. War by Monsanto, Food by Monsanto --- !!!!

As I understand it, they try to track where their seeds have blown into nearby acreage and

they try to suggest that the farmer planted it!!!

This is capitalism and it is suicidal!

[Hydra]

4. Consider the big three components of society

Food, water, energy.

Consider how close they are to monopolizing that.

[ColbertWatcher]

9. Yes, but what can we do to stop them? n/t

[formercia]

5. I brought in carrot seed today to finish drying

They're biennial so the carrots have to be kept indoors for the Winter here in Maine and replanted in the Spring when they will go to seed.
In the old days, good farmers would save seed adapted to their land and organic was the way most everyone grew crops.

The big companies like Monsanto pay many Millions to universities to promote their culture and kill the memory of how farmers can save their own seed and be independent.

[soothsayer]

7. death to monsatan!

[DCKit]

8. Isn't it illegal for American companies to pay bribes?

'Cause that's the only way they getting into Africa, Central America, South America and Asia. But I'm not discounting undue and illegal pressure from the World Bank and IMF either.

Folks, if we let them have their way, they will have the power of life and death over us - all of us.

[crikkett]

10. misleading headline. Valley Trust was pressured by US Dept Agriculture, resisted, now works alone.nt

[SpiralHawk]

11. USDA now a republcion homelander tool of mega-corps

Not interested in helping farmers, only interested in maximizing control and profits for Monsanto & allied mutant corporations....

Ptooey...

[brentspeak]

12. K and R

:kick: