Collective rights and access to the commons are fundamental pillar of agroecology. We share access to territories that are the home to many different peer groups, and we have sophisticated customary systems for regulating access and avoiding conflicts that we want to preserve and to strengthen. (Nyéléni Déclaration, 2015)

Farmers’ rights to seeds

The seed question is wide. The following documents relate to intellectual property rights, criminalization of farmers’ seeds, international treaties and regulations, institutional lock-ins, farmer’s seeds networks, seeds selection and conservation methods.

Webinar – Quality Assurance in Farmers’ Seed System (Nov, 20th 2023)

Recording in English available here. The webinar was held in three languages: English, Russian and Bahasa. The recording is available in English only.

The presentations are available here below:

– Anya Coutinho, Gradina Moldovei Capacity building of seed savers and development of farmers’ seed systems in Moldova

– Kostas Koutis, AEGILOPS Ensuring farmers’ seed quality: Lessons learned from informal seed system and small scale farmers’ network activities in Greece

– Andrea Ferrante, Schola Campesina, Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) for seeds

Background presentation:

– Ricardo Bocci, Let’s liberate biodiversity / Rete Semi Rurali New openings at Eu level on seed marketing

Interesting links and resources:

Seed4all website

PGS Guidelines: How to Develop and Manage Participatory Guarantee Systems for Organic Agriculture (IFOAM)

Other resources on the Right to seeds

• • Audio doc in French – Ibrahima Coulibaly (CNOP Mali / ROPPA) : the need for regulations to protect peasant seeds in West African countries

• • RECOVERING THE CYCLE OF WISDOM: BEACONS OF LIGHT TOWARD THE RIGHT TO SEEDS Guide for the Implementation of Farmers’ Rights. Published by the Working Group on Agricultural Biodiversity of the International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty (IPC), FIAN International and Centro Internazionale Crocevia, 2021
    
  • International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture(FAO, 2004).  EN ES
  • The Convention on Biological Diveristy (UNCBD)
  • Semences et autonomie paysannes. (Guy Kastler, Antonio Onorati et Bob Brac. L’observatoire du droit à l’alimentation et à la nutrition, 2013). FR
  • Keeping Seeds in People’s Hands. Right to Food and Nutrition Watch Issue 08 (FIAN, 2016). FR EN ES PO
  • Seed policies and the right to food: enhancing agrobiodiversity and encouraging innovation (De Schutter for UN, 2009) EN ES
  • Participatory tools working with crops, varieties and seeds. A guide for professionals applying participatory approaches in agrobiodiversity management, crop improvement and seed sector development. (2007, Wageningen Univ.)
  • Haciendo Milpa. La protección de las semillas y la agricultura campesina. (Elena Álvarez-Buylla Roces, Areli Carreón García, Adelita San Vicente Tello, 2011) pp. 104. ES
  • Seed laws by country – Excel sheet (GRAIN, 2015). EN
  • Seed laws that criminalise farmers. Resistance and fightback (GRAIN LVC, 2015). EN FR ES
  • Seeds and agricultural biodiversity: the neglected backbone of the right to food and nutrition. (Sofía Monsalve Suárez, Maryam Rahmanian, Antonio Onorati, 2016). EN
  • New trade deals legalise corporate theft, make farmer’s seeds illegal (GRAIN, 2016) EN
  • Resisting corporate takeover of African seed systems and building farmer managed seed systems for food sovereignty in Africa (AFSA, 2017) EN FR
  • Business profits or diverse food systems? Threats to peasant seeds and implications in West Africa (Right ro Food and Nutrition, 2018) EN
  • L’UPOV 91 et les autres lois sur les semences : petit guide sur les méthodes des entreprises semencières pour tenter de contrôler et monopoliser les semences (GRAIN, 2015) FR
  • Seed sovereignty: Just a dream? Participatory workshop in Italy (2022)  Video IT EN subtitles

Right to natural resources

• UNDROP – United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (2018) EN ES FR IT (translated in IT by Schola Campesina), RUS
• Agroecology in UNDROP (FIAN, UNDROP series, 2021)

Right to land

• Voluntary guidelines on the responsible governance of tenure of land, fisheries and forests in the context of national food security – VGGT (FAO, 2012). EN ES FR
  • Putting the Voluntary Guidelines on Tenure into practice. A guide for Civil Society Organizations (FAO FIAN 2017)
  • People’s Manual on the Guidelines on Governance of Land, Fisheries and Forests. A guide for promotion, implementation, monitoring and evaluation. (International Planning Committee for Food Sovereignty -IPC, 2016) http://foodsovereignty.org  ES FR
  • Compilation of experiences and good practices in the use and application of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure (CFS, 2016) EN

Right to food

• Civil society report on the use and implementation of the Right to Food Guidelines (CSM, 2018)
• The struggle for the right to food and nutrition (FIAN, 2017) – EN
• Peoples’ Monitoring on the Right to Food and Nutrition – Political Manifesto (FIAN, 2017) – EN ES FR
• Voluntary Guidelines to support the progressive realization of the right to adequate food in the context of the national food security (FAO, 2005) – EN ES FR
• The right to land and other natural resources (FIAN, 2015) – EN ES FR
• The Right to Food and Nutrition Watch 2017 “The World Food Crisis: The Way Out”.  EN ES FR
• Food Sovereignty and the Recognition of New Rights for Peasants at the UN: A Critical Overview of La Via Campesina’s Rights Claims over the Last 20 Years, Globalizations (Claeys, 2014)

links: http://www.righttofoodandnutrition.org/