Seed Sector of Bangladesh: Historical background and its effect in the present days
UBINIG || Tuesday 02 January 2024 ||
The historical background of the seed sector traced back to the British colonial period. Though at the initial stage, the British government was not interested in agriculture, however, this scenario started to change when the industrial revolution occurred in the 18th century and the global capital started to expand itself exponentially. To ensure the supply of the raw materials at a cheap rate for the industries established in their country, the British started to pay attention to the agriculture in colonial India. The British established an agricultural research institution named ‘Imperial Council of Agricultural Research’ and started to produce cotton, jute, wheat, indigo, potato, etc. for exporting these to the markets in Britain. As a result, the British were able to amass a huge amount of profit. In order to expand the agricultural research conducted by the ‘Imperial Council of Agricultural Research’, another research organization named ‘Dhaka Farm’ was established in 1909 in Dhaka. During that time, all the seeds that were used for agricultural research purposes were the seeds of indigenous varieties of crops that the local farmers used to cultivate in their lands. At that time, there were no laws or acts in existence.
Back then, farmers themselves used to preserve the seeds. They used to exchange seeds with their neighbors and relatives. As a result, they were not dependent on the agricultural research institutions for the seeds. However, during the British regime, seeds of potato, papaya and some other vegetables which were not of local origin used to be distributed free of charge among the farmers. Despite this fact, farmers were the ones who had the right to take final decisions as to what they would cultivate on their lands. At that time, the British government had no seeds laws or seeds acts here. Only agricultural research activities used to be conducted with a view to agricultural development.
Seed Act 1966
It’s noteworthy that when 303 high yield rice varieties were introduced by International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in 1966 in this region, the erstwhile East Pakistan government enacted the seeds act for the first time. It was said that this seed act wanted to ensure the quality of the seeds provided to the farmers. The key aspects of this seed act was to: a) form a central seed committee to provide suggestions to the erstwhile central government of Pakistan. b) establish a central seed laboratory.
From the British colonial period to the first decade of erstwhile Pakistan, seeds were not given any special attention by any of the ruling government. At that time also, there were agricultural research institutions. But the scientists of those agricultural research institutions were not skeptical about the efficacy of the farmers’ seeds system. Rather they selected high yielding varieties of crops from the local seeds and recommended those seeds for cultivation. In other words, farmers’ seed system was the sole source of seeds for agriculture at that time.
But when the high-yielding rice varieties were introduced into the erstwhile Pakistan in 1966, the government felt the need to enact a seed law. It was the beginning of imposing government control over seeds. The seed act was enacted in 1966 in East Pakistan. This seed act played a crucial role in eradicating the agency of the farmers in the agricultural works and replacing it with industrial agriculture where the large corporate agro companies were awarded the opportunities to reap profits from this sector in every possible way. It is important to keep in mind that the seed act enacted by the erstwhile East Pakistan government helped serve the vested interest of the capital invested in the agriculture sector.
Though there were many lofty words in the seed act 1966, however, its prime objective boiled down to the ultimate goal of creating profit-making opportunity for the corporate agro companies. If the farmers themselves remained the custodian of the seeds, then the seed companies would have no chance to make profit out of it. So, it was important for the corporate agro companies to disenfranchise the farmers from their custodianship role of the seeds and eradicate their agency in the agricultural process along with it for their profit making purpose.
Consequently, the agriculture sector as a whole became a playground for the profit-seeking corporate firms and the role that the farmers used to play as the custodians now got reduced to that of the recipients of seeds and other agricultural inputs marketed by the corporate agro companies. Thus industrial agriculture got introduced to this region through the seed act of 1966. In other words, the seed act of 1966 was enacted to protect the interest of the capital invested in the agro sector. For this reason, the so-called high-yielding rice varieties of IRRI were introduced to this region though there had been 18,000 local/indigenous rice varieties available at that time.
Chemical inputs: Industrial agriculture
It is important to keep in mind that chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, extraction of underground water for irrigation, and costly machines for industrial agriculture got introduced to the farmers with the advent of ‘high-yielding’ rice seeds of IRRI. These seeds produced by large agro companies and various agricultural inputs along with it have increased the production costs exponentially on the one hand and have paved the way for making profit for the large agro companies on the other.
After the independence of Bangladesh in 1971, the erstwhile president issued ordinance 32 in 1973 which, according to the government, facilitated the opportunity for agricultural research development and coordinated activities. In continuation of this, president ordinance 62 was issued by dint of which Directorate of Agricultural Research and Education–an institution established during the period of East Pakistan–was abolished. As a result of this ordinance, more than 12 autonomous institutions came into being in the seed sector. These institutions are: 1. Bangladesh Agricultural Research Institute, 2. Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, 3. Bangladesh Jute Research Institute, 4. Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture, 5. Bangladesh Sugarcrop Research Institute, 6. Soil Research Development Institute, 7. Bangladesh Fisheries Research Institute, 8. Bangladesh Livestock Research Institute, 9. Bangladesh Forest Research Institute, 10. Bangladesh Tea Research Institute, 11. Bangladesh Sericulture Research and Training Institute, 12. Cotton Development Board
Before the independence of Bangladesh, the scientists of the erstwhile agricultural research institutes used to direct their research activities toward selecting the superior varieties of seeds among the local varieties of crops. But after independence when various autonomous specialized research institutions were established in different sectors of agriculture, the prime objective of these research institutions turned into inventing new varieties of seeds instead of selecting superior varieties of seeds from the local varieties of crops. As a result of this change in the objective of research, these agricultural research institutions engaged themselves in inventing and promoting so called ‘high-yielding’, hybrid, and genetically modified (GMO) seeds of crops and vegetables. There were many local varieties of crops that had a lot of potential. But the potentials of these local varieties were completely ignored and these specialized agricultural research institutions directed their focus on inventing hybrid and GMO crops.
‘The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV)’ – Breeder’s rights
Capitalist drive infused the seed sector before the independence of Bangladesh and provisions were made to make it a lucrative sector for making profit for the multinational agro companies. To this end, an international convention named ‘The International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV)’ was adopted in Paris in 1961. This convention was revised in 1972, 1978, and 1991. The most important aspect of this convention was that it established breeder’s right to invent new seed varieties. As breeder’s rights were established in the seed sector, agricultural scientists lost their interest in seeds of the local or indigenous varieties of crops and directed their focus on inventing the seeds of high-yielding, hybrid, and genetically modified (GMO) crops. It is evident that this breeder’s right facilitated the expansion of the high-yielding, hybrid, and GMO varieties of crops. Breeders are competing all over the world to invent new varieties of crops. Multinational agro companies are taking advantage of these inventions and making profit out of it by marketing the seeds of the invented ‘high-yielding’, hybrid, and GMO crops. Not only did the UPOV convention pave the way for the multinational agro companies to make profit out of the invented hybrid and GMO seeds, but it also played a role in endangering the rich agrobiodiversity that had once been prevalent in this region.
Miracle Rice IR8: Seed Rule 1968
The ‘Miracle’ rice variety IR8 was introduced into Bangladesh in 1968, just before the independence. As soon as IR8 rice variety was introduced into Bangladesh, the erstwhile government felt the urge to enact a new seed rule. As a result, Seed Rule-1968 was enacted. This rule was almost similar to the Seed Act 1966. The only new aspect that was found in this rule was that it recognized only those seeds that would be permitted by the certifying agency. Because of this new definition of the seeds, farmers’ seeds did not get the due recognition and consequently were not recognized as seeds. Soon after it, another seed act was enacted in 1969. All these seed acts and rule were enacted with a view to facilitating the sales and usage of the hybrid and genetically modified seeds marketed by the multinational agro companies among the farmers. It is important to keep in mind that the then east pakistan government enacted ‘Essential Commodities Act’ in 1955 to facilitate the production, marketing, and dissemination of the ‘high-yielding’ crops seeds. Following these footsteps, the Bangladesh government introduced the Seed Control Order in 1983 to establish control over the seeds.
It is very frustrating that no seed act was enacted after the independence of Bangladesh that reflected the hopes and aspirations of an independent sovereign country. Rather, the seed act of 1969 enacted by the East Pakistan government was adopted and introduced in the independent Bangladesh.
Seed Ordinance `1977
However, the major step that the Bangladesh government took to establish the seed board, seed certification agency, seed wing, seed testing laboratory, seed analyst, seed invigilator, and seed traders was to introduce The Seeds Ordinance 1977. Through this ordinance, the farmers’ seed system was denied and replaced by a bureaucratic structure where the farmers’ position is at the receiving end of a system the ultimate objective of which is to maximize the profit of the agro companies.
Apart from the Seeds Ordinance 1977, the other seed acts / policies are: The Seed Rules-1980, National Seed Policy-1993, Seed Rules-1998, The Seeds Act-2013, and Seeds Act-2018.
The Seed Act - 2018 was enacted by repealing The Seed Ordinance - 1977 and updating the provisions with modifications. This Act is thoroughly bureaucratic as the National Seed Board consists of secretaries of various government ministries and departments, director generals, and chairmans, leaving barely any space for the farmers in it. These bureaucrats who hardly have any distant relation with the seeds and agriculture helped enact the Seed Act 2018.
Facilitated by the seed act and seed policy, the hybrid variety of rice, named “Alok-6201” was first introduced in Bangladesh in 1998. A big agro company of the country, named ACI limited, marketed the seeds of this hybrid variety of rice. The seed act, seed policy, and the whole seed management system of the government have cumulatively created a lucrative opportunity for the large agro companies to make profit out of this sector. Bangladesh Seed Association, an association of the businessmen involved in seed business, has also been formed under the Bangladesh Joint Stock Company and Firms Act. The members of this association are seed traders and seed dealers.
As a consequence of this seed act and seed policy, seeds of indigenous varieties of crops and farmers’ seed system are on the brink of extinction. This erroneous act and policy have made the farmers dependent on the agro-companies dealing in seeds, pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers, etc. All these have negatively affected the food production system as a whole.