In an open letter to Bayer, Spain's Asociación de Agricultura Regenerativa (Regenerative Agriculture Association) has accused the ag-chemical giant of greenwashing over "regenerative agriculture". The Association says it is "extremely alarmed" by claims such as, "Bayer highlights the role of glyphosate in regenerative agriculture". They say authentic regenerative agriculture does not use such biocides, chemical fertilisers, or GMOs. They add, "It's neither legitimate for Bayer to claim to lead the industry [in regenerative agriculture], nor is it legitimate for Bayer to claim to establish the basis or definition of what is regenerative agriculture, nor is it legitimate for Bayer to claim that glyphosate is necessary for regenerative agriculture." Asociación de Agricultura Regenerativa

 

 

ActionAid Nigeria has taken a position on the controversy ranging over Nigeria's adoption of GM foods, based on its concerns over fears that they can affect socio-economic, environmental and human rights of smallholder farmers and the danger of Intellectual Property Right (IPRs). The organisation, in a paper titled: “ActionAid’s stand on GMOs in agriculture”, said it works for an agricultural system that promotes human rights, food security, economic and environmental sustainability through local control over natural resources, seeds, land, water, forests, knowledge and technology. ActionAid said, “If the same resources that are spent on the development of GMOs were instead devoted to improving distribution and storage systems for smallholder farmers, we would likely be much closer to a sustainable solution to global food insecurity." Blueprint

 

 

India's cotton farmers and the seed industry are staring at pests developing resistance to Bt cotton, increasing the cost of cultivation, rapidly decelerating cotton yield, declining export, and increasing import. The situation is such that the cotton farmers and seed industry "have nowhere to go". The Hindu Businessline (paywalled)

 

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