Haitian Farmers Reject Monsanto Donation. Bravo CHAVANNES.

World
Haitian Farmers Reject Monsanto Donation
by Michelle Greenhalgh | Jun 07, 2010

The Peasant Movement of Papay, a group of Haitian farmers, has committed to burning 60,000 seed sacks (475 tons) of hybrid corn and vegetable seeds donated by Monsanto in the wake of the devastating earthquake earlier this year.


Peasant Movement of Papay leader Chavannes Jean-Baptiste called Monsanto's donation "a new earthquake" and called for a march to protest the corporation's presence in Haiti for World Environment Day.


The National Peasant Movement of the Congress of Papay sent an open letter on May 14 signed by Jean-Baptiste. The letter called Monsanto's presence in Haiti, "a very strong attack on small agriculture, on farmers, on biodiversity, on Creole seeds..., and on what is left of our environment in Haiti."


In addition to MPNKP and MPP, other Haitian social movements have advocated in opposition to agribusiness imports of seeds and food. The groups have expressed strong concern regarding the importation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as they undermine local production of local seed stocks.


Haitian law does not prohibit the use of GMOs within the country, but the Ministry of Agriculture rejected Monsanto's offer to donate Roundup Ready seeds. As a result of these actions, a representative from Monsanto responded to the Ministry of Agriculture via email to assure that donated seeds would not be GMO.


Monsanto is internationally known for aggressively pushing its seed products, specifically GMO seeds. The use of seeds also usually includes highly restrictive technology agreements between the company and farmers, who groups opposed to the use of GMOs claim are not always fully made aware of what they are signing.

GMO-opposed groups claim that by signing these agreements, small farmers are forced to buy Monsanto seeds each year under conditions they often find onerous and at high costs that they cannot afford.


The corn seed product Monsanto donated to Haiti has been treated with the fungicide Maxim XO, while the calypso tomato seeds were treated with thiram.

Thiram is a highly toxic chemical belonging to the ethylene bisdithiocarbamates (EBDCs) class. Upon U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tests on the EBDC's, the EPA deemed any EBDC-treated plants so dangerous to agricultural workers, that they are now mandated to wear protective clothing when handling them.


The EPA ruled that pesticides that contain thiram must have a special warning label. In addition, the EPA also banned marketing of aforementioned chemicals for home garden products as it is assumed that most home gardeners do not own adequately protective clothing.


Social movements in Haiti consider the offer from Monsanto detrimental to the local economy. "People in the U.S. need to help us produce, not give us food and seeds. They're ruining our chance to support ourselves," said farmer Jonas Deronzil of a peasant cooperative in the rural region of Verrettes.


Monsanto has been criticized for its role in environmental, health, and farming ills. The company's Agent Orange caused cancer in a large number of U.S. Veterans. The Vietnamese government claims that 400,000 of their citizens were either killed or disabled as a result of Agent Orange, while 500,000 children were born with birth defects as a result of exposure.


Seed giants Syngenta, Dupont and Bayer, and Monsanto control more than half of the world's seed patents. Monsanto retains almost 650 seed patents, most of which are for cotton, corn, and soy. The company also owns almost 30 percent of the share of all biotechnology research and development.


"Fighting hybrid and GMO seeds is critical to save our diversity and our agriculture," Jean-Baptiste said in an interview in February.

"We have the potential to make our lands produce enough to feed the whole population and even to export certain products.

The policy we need for this to happen is food sovereignty, where the county has a right to define it own agricultural policies, to grow first for the family and then for local market, to grow healthy food in a way which respects the environment and Mother Earth."

Mwen pat vle rantre nan debat sila pou bien des rezons kem pa vle cite icitte la.

Sempman map di ke mwen li anpil analyz sou koz la pauvrete 60% de moun kap viv nan sektion riral nouyo. yon nan pi bon rapport mwen jwen se yon Haitien ki rele Evans Jadotte nan Inivesite Laval ki ekril.

http://portal.pep-net.org/documents/download/id/13564

Gen 2 lot consiltant swedwa mwen kre ki refe men etid la pou UNDP yo rive a mem konklizion yo.

http://www.ht.undp.org/_assets/fichier/publication/pubdoc28.pdf

Kisa ki konklizion yo:

Kouman la mizè distiribuyé nan popilation an (Se yon keksion kapital, pou kelke swa gouvelman kap pansse ka gade ki kaalte politique ki ka gen pi gwo inmpact sou chak dolla ki investi pou goumen ak la mizè. Wou pa bezwen ekonomis pou konpran ke yon gouvelman ki gen yon bidget limite dwe itilize bidget sil yon fasson efficient. Ki vle diw sispan depansel lajan programme ki pa itil peyi a aryen et investi ljan sila yo nan lot programme ki gen plis randmant ekonomik ou socialement plis avantageux pou ansam societe a (examp chete machine de luxe bay senate ak depite 9se debtab gen moun ki k di se chete la paix sosial, s se yon lot keksion)).

Se konsa chef gouvelman an dwe gere an bon pere de famille.

Tout rle lwen mene pre sila se pou fe remake ke yon nan konklision koken chen rapport sila yo seke la mize a pa distribiye menm jan selon region yon moun rete an Haiti. Selon depatman wou abite, selon wou rete nan ville ou nan zon riral yo ebien pou menm characteristiques social yo siw nan zone riral ebien wou gen mwens revenu et pi la mizè a frappew pi fort.

Yo vin jwen kom lot characteristik la mize sila ke la plipa moun ki nan lamize sila yo se nan zones riral yo rete epi se de agrikilti yap viv. Sak plis etonan yo demontre ke dwa propriete pa gen okinn effet sou estati la mizè payizan Haitien sof si se yon gran don ki gen plis ke dix carro te nan main li (ki vle diw yon gran don kap explate travay pi mizerere san te yo). Se rezon sila yo bay an partie ki koz moun yo pankapab ankor ak la mize nan zones riral yo , yo jete yo potoprins vin chache yon lvi miyo, ki vin by poblem ktstrophik nou konen yn.

Nan kontext sila si yon moun pozé tet li keksion poukisa. Le wou pale ak espesialis yo yo diw ke agrikilti haiti li pa konpetitif, li pa bay randman, se yon agrikilti sibsistans. Sa pa vle di se yon move bagay paske se yon fasson pou assire sekirite alimante li peyizan itilize pou pwop konsommation li pwodwi ki pousse nan jadin li li serre tankou yon bank an ka move tan li pa bezwen voye nan mache.

Sa se youn, men gen yon aspect tou ke akoz de sa pa gen investissman kifet, peyizan an agi tankou yon rentier de terre la ki bay jis minimum de sa li kapab bay. A long terme li pas yon solition pou assire perrenite ak sekirite alimentaire tout yon peyi poilation an yo prevwa ki pwal double dìci 2040 (avant evenmant 12 Janvier ya).

Nou we nou te kon pwodwi yon laj posantaj nan bezwen alimante peyi a nan anne 60-70-80 yo jodia se preske yon minimum ki pwodwi nan peyi a majorite soti a lètranje et pi ta pitris ak popilation kap moute bwa.

Bon mwen kontan Chavannes ap defan dwa ti peyizan kap pwodwi semans lokal, et ki vle yo konsrve semans kreol mayi. Ce tres bien. Map jis di ke jodia nan 21 e siek nap viv la si pa gen yon pwogram bien avanse pou ameliore semans kreol la tankou sakapfet nan Mexik yon oganis LONI ki rele CiMMYT eben nou kakit.

Yon lot bagay pou ki analyze tou se ki kalte teknoloji nap rantre nan peyi a, gen teknoloji ki bon gen lot ki mwen bon. Monsanto gen bon pwodwi tou paske li gen anpil lajan poul fe gwo rechech, si certain nan pwodwil yo pat bon wou pa ta we dominikains ap achete yo pou yo plante. Ki vle diw fok yon nom pa analpfabet pa bet rejete tout bagay poutet li pote yon etikette se Monsanto ki fel.. Bwi kite kouri a komkwa mayi ke li fe kado Haiti se yon mayi OGM, vin pwouve se yon vie rumeur, se pa vre, sal bay la se yon mayi konventionel avance Yon Mayi HYBRIDE ki vle diw yon mayi yo kwaze 2 lignee yon male ak yon femelle ki chak sou bo payo gen des proprietes dezirab hybride la pote ni dezirab sou bo papa ni sou bo manman sempman le hybrid la soti pou fe pitit se tankou yon milet li kale mouch pito. Se pa toutafe vrai men sempman piti thybrid la li mwens performan paske genes yo rearrange yon fasson ki fe ke gen plispie mayi kokobe de generation an generation apres 1er generation ki hybride la. Se sak fe planteir kap chache prodiktion maximum pwal achte semans mayi hybride la a chak anne nan men konpayi ki van li passe li serre grenn mayi poul plante anne prochain (yon bagay ki preske pa fet , oubien kifet de mwen an mwen nan oken peyi plis avanse yo pou plizie rezon mwen pa bezwen cite la-a).

Pou revni nan soulage la mize malere peyizan Haitien, yon moun kapab anvizage si reveni yon peyizan se $400.00 US pa anne kouman wou kapab double revenu sila a $800.00 tres fasil an doublan rekot li ka fe sou men ti bout te lap kiltive a. Se pa yon bagay ki pi diffisil hke sa low li nan atik anba wou gade gen yon kalte mayi peyi ki bawou 0.5 Tonne pa karro lot la gen potentiel pou bawou jiska 8 tonnes su menm karo a sil bien pran swen, li jwen dlo, angre, bet nuizib ak insek pa ravage li etc... Ap redwi l mize pou riral yo, si gen yon lvi miyo nan agrikilti eben se pata mirak pou we marginal kap fe $500-600 nan kapital la retounen nan peyi li lal plante si gen lot mezu accompgnement ki ankourge li fe sa sil k fe $700-800 nan provins (gen lot bgy apa lajan ki jwe tou tnkou acces aelectricite, lekol, lopital etc).

Alos se te 2 goutte dlo Doub la nan Ocean koze degrengoch pwopagndis anti-mosanto yon gwo mouvman radikalis tandans gochis intenasional ki gen bon tilajan pou fe pwopagan yo mache. Po pep Hitien si yo p pwn tet yo , ya we se ti jwett marionette yo ye nan men tout ti gwoup ki gen agenda payo pou pousse bourik pyo pi devan.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T6M-3YSXNTB-2&_user=10&_coverDate=08/31/1995&_rdoc=1&_fmt=high&_orig=search&_sort=d&_docanchor=&view=c&_searchStrId=1362097971&_rerunOrigin=google&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=46b0fc474ea9740e334d6043f41ab91e