The South African Civil Society Information Service
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
A nonprofit news agency promoting social justice. Seeking answers to the question:
How do we make democracy work for the poor?
Glenn Ashton -
In order to address Africa’s poor agricultural productivity international players are intent on criminalising traditional seed saving practices. This thrust is directed by a triumvirate of corporate interests, actively assisted by first world governments and front organisations parading as non-governmental organisations.
Africa lies at the frontier of international agricultural intervention for several reasons. Firstly the continent lags badly in agricultural productivity. This is...
Inspired by Einstein, Vandana Shiva, became a nuclear physicist, but turned her attention to food security and environmental issues early in her career. Much of her work focuses on protecting indigenous seeds.
Shiva takes a strong stand against genetically modified seeds, which are "more costly and leave local farmers deep in debt as well as dependent on suppliers. Shiva, who founded a movement in India to promote native seeds, links genetic tinkering to problems in our ecology,...
In a 2009 interview, Indian activist, Vandana Shiva, argued, "Over the last decade, 200,000 farmers have committed suicide (in India)…In Vidharbha, 4,000 are committing suicide annually. This is the region where four million acres of cotton have been grown with Monsanto's Bt cotton. The suicides are a direct result of a debt trap created by ever-increasing costs of seeds and chemicals and constantly falling prices of agricultural produce."
Over the years, the plight of...
