Re: [CH] seed control

The Old Bear (oldbear@arctos.com)
Mon, 10 Aug 1998 09:35:25 -0400 

In Chile-Heads Digest, v.5 #11, L & C Wyman wrote:

>Date: Sun, 9 Aug 1998 20:26:17 -0700
>From: "L & C Wyman" <cywash@ptinet.net>
>Subject: [CH] seed control
>
>The practice of controling the seeds for agriculture is a worldwide 
>problem apparently.  A freind who has been in Africa for many years 
>tells of the Agriculture corporations coming in and planting test 
>fields with hybrid seed and getting 2 to 4 times the yield of the 
>local farmers who have traditionally saved seed every year.  
>Understandably few can resist the increased yield and soon are 
>buying their seed from the Corporation, and saving seed no more.  
>The benefit to the Corporation is they sell the seed and the benefit 
>to the farmer is apparently a greater yield in an inflated market.  
>Over time the African farmer will have saved no productive seed and
>be totally dependent on outside sources for their supply, kind of a 
>natural resources "we own it & you want it"  power struggle raised to 
>the ridiculous very rapidly. . . .

While I don't want to prolong this thread, which is peripheral to the 
charter of the Chile-Heads List and Digest, it's worth noting that 
this issue of hybrid and genetically-engineered seed has a different 
sides.

I heard a brief interview with the chairman of ConAgra upon his 
return from Africa where he was among the many American businesspeople 
in the entourage following the President.  He was asked about why 
the U.S. had not been more engaged in much of Africa and he stated 
that one of the reasons was that it was difficult to form trading 
relationships (which seem to lead political relationships) with 
countries whose economies are such that they cannot afford to buy 
American goods and services.  He stated that his company's activities 
in Africa were quite small as a portion of its total business and 
that this economic disparity prevented farmers from acquiring the 
seed and equipment which could significantly improve their yields 
and lead to economic self-sufficiency.  He stated that usually the 
farmer would like to use higher-yielding seed, but he is unable to 
afford it.

I post this because the issue of agribusiness and economic development 
is very complex and that there are a number of trade-offs which need 
to be made between the farmer as an isolated unit and the farmer as 
part of a global economy.

With that, I promise never to post on this topic to this list again.

Cheers,
The Old Bear