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| Agricultural Engineers against the new “seed law”- |   |
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| 28 September 2006 - | |||||||
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September 27, 2006
The President of the Chamber of Engineers, Şanlıurfa Branch Abdullah Melik responded to the new “seed law” proposal, prepared in accordance with the EU accords. He said if the proposal is approved, the multinational corporations will gain control of the production and distribution of seeds in Turkey. According to Melik, the proposal to be discussed in the Parliament privatizes the institutions in the public sector and transfers the right to produce, sell and distribute seeds to foreign agro-business companies. The privatization process has been in process for years. First the needed funds were cut off and then the enterprises were emptied of its technical personnel. Today, in Turkey, 90% of vegetable farming is dependent on foreign imports for seeds. Turkey can produce only 25% of certified grain seeds. Ignoring the realities of the countryside, this new proposal opens the agriculture to the hegemony of multinationals and thus causing its complete collapse. Commenting on the richness of the plant variety in Turkey, Melik said, “The fact of the decline in the sector and the increase in poverty should necessitate helping the producers by providing cheap, good quality, durable seeds on time rather then entering into new relations that will only result in further dependence and only provide profits foe agro-business multinationals and their sub-contractors”. Melik also asked for the withdrawal of the proposal. E.K. |
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