The News | Sunday, August 09, 2009
By our correspondent
HYDERABAD: The government was asked on Saturday to immediately stop all land deals being negotiated with foreign governments, investors, US seed company Monsanto and other agro-chemical companies promoting genetically-modified crops, especially BT cotton.
Executive Director of Roots for Equity, Dr Azra Talat Syed, made this demand while speaking at a news conference at the Hyderabad Press Club along with Executive Director of Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific, Sarojeni Rengam and farmer leader Ghulam Mohammad.
She said past years have shown a constant onslaught of corporate agriculture on every aspect of agriculture and two most critical issues now being faced by millions of small farmers in Pakistan are corporate land grabbing and onslaught of BT cotton. She said nearly six million acres of land are said to be leased to foreign investors of Middle Eastern countries while corporate investors are now negotiating with provincial governments including Sindh to acquire land in Shikarpur, Larkana and Sukkur.
The government has also promised the investors of the Gulf at least 0.5 million hectares of land and promising investors that if they sign up it will provide a security force to protect their assets.
She said the government last year signed a memorandum of understanding with US company Monsanto to allow US seed company to introduce BT cotton to destroy the rich genetic heritage of farmers. She said BT cotton attracts several pest attacks, adding that farmers would also become vulnerable to diseases because of BT cotton seeds. She demanded that farmers should be provided with agricultural inputs at subsidised prices.
