Venezuela to ban GMO seeds

The Seed Law will regulate the production of hybrid seeds in Venezuela and prevent the research, production, import, and distribution of GMO seeds.

 

Venezuelan campesinos and rural families may soon have a reason to celebrate as the head of the National Assembly assured on Tuesday that the Seed Law to regulate hybrid seeds and ban transgenic seed research in the South American country will be approved before the opposition takes control of the Parliament on Jan. 5, 2016.

 

Approval of the Seed Law has been pending since last year after being proposed through a national dialogue process in 2013. Public consultations have sought popular input on the law, and campesinos and environmental advocates have long urged for its approval.

 

The law will regulate the production of hybrid seeds in Venezuela and prevent the research, production, import, and distribution of GMO seeds in the name of protecting human and environmental health, food sovereignty, and soil fertility. It also brings agricultural policy in line with the Article 305 of the Venezuelan constitution, which mandates state promotion of sustainable agriculture as the constitutional foundation of food security and rural development.

 

The Seed Law will also launch a National Seed System as the central body to implement the law and monitor and sanction any agricultural violations, with a focus on the protection of traditional seeds.

 

Venezuelan agriculture has been applauded by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization for its efforts to eradicate hunger and achievements in food security and food sovereignty.