LEGISLATION SET FOR FINAL READING IN THE COMING WEEK APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN CUTTED OF MEASURES TO IMPROVE PRODUCTION AND REWARD FARMERS FOR THEIR HARD WORK AND WISDOM
EVERYONE INVOLVED agrees that the rice bill - Thailand's first legislation aimed at guiding holistic management of produc tion - began with good intentions. But now that it's sailed through first reading by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), and despite a series of amendments in recent months, the devil is appearing in the details The NLA initiated the bill in a rush late last year, prodded along by groups of farmer representatives allegedly tied to state agen- cies such as the Rice Department.
The original bill, which didn'tsurvivethe draft stage, was aimed at "developing and stabilising rice production and the supply ain and protecting farmers' rights more effectively", resulting in "the utmost benefit to the whole production proces According to the drafters, the 22-page bill's six main sections foresaw the cre- ation of a policy body overseeing rice pro duction and management, pooling the authority of the Rice Department and other concerned officials,
collecting "big data" on rice-grain trades, and setting out penalties for violations The most controversial current compo- nent is Section 5, which concerns the man agement and supervision of rice produc- tion. The production of and trade in dif ferent rice varieties remain the subjects of heated debate The original draft addressed the issue in Article 26, which proposed a ban on trade in certain rice varieties without state certi fication but made an exception for small scale farming.
The clause drew strong oppo- sition based on the fear that farmers would still be forced to use only varieties produced nd sold in the market by farm-business firms or else face jail Complaints from other alternative farming and farmers'-rights advocacy groups resulted in the contentious article being dropped. Other articles were altered in the late d thiadest version to be tabled for second ing week.
The bill came with good intentions from people who wished to see holistic manage- ment for our rice production and market- ing,"said Witoon Lianchamroon, director of Biodiversity-Sustainable Agriculture- Sovereignty Action Thailand (the BioThai Foundation)
The real problem with it is thatthe broad public participation it was supposed to have was lacking, so some critical elements were omitted that were essential to production management being ableto withstand future challenges, including food security."
BioThai has been working with farmers across the nation for years and says it is the farmers who till lead the way in developing and improving rice varieties through their selection skills. World-renowned varieties suchas Hom Mali, for instance, derived from that wisdom and skill, long before any state agency certified it,
Witoon said Overthe last 10years, as interest in organ
ic produce boomed, many rice farmers have parlayed their traditional skills as growers to become breeders. They've created new rice varieties such as aromatic Chor Ratree, which is Nakhon Sawan's answer to Hom Maliand Pathum Thani I andthe Yellowrice grain cultivated in Yasothon, which is full of folic acid,
a boon to pregnant women. These varieties tend to be exchanged among farmers and traded locally before earning state certification, aprocess that can takeyears because it involves scientificstudy to confirm that the variety's distinctive traits are stable. BioThai's findings are in line with those ofthe Rice Department itself, which says up to 49 percent ofrice varieties are those devel- oped and improved by farmers. That's in stark contrast to the 6 per cent of varieties it has developed and certified,
another 6 per cent coming from its community rice cen- tres and cooperatives, and 18 percent derived from rice-business firms All of this is ignored in the current draft of the legislation, which instead focuses on waysto regulate the state-certified varieties, Witoon pointed out.
And it extends state support only to farmers who growthestate-certified vari- eties Worse, the greater authority given the Rice Department under the newly added Article 27/4 can also be enforced through the 1975 Plant Variety Act, which bars trade in uncertified plant varieties, including rice Witoon believes the bill runs counter to realities in the field and fails to correct mis takes made in the past. He partially blames the state's mindset when writing laws,
which gives priority to enforcement and private-sector benefits while overriding community rights BioThai has asked the drafters to delay further deliberation so that the public has more time to weigh in on the issues "Rice is not just about products on the market," Witoon said. "It's about the way of life, the culture. These dimensions need to be weighed before a decision is made so we can maintain the diversity and resilience that could help us survive against future challenges,
including food securityand con- trol by big business. That resilience is in the hands of our farmers Macro economist and rural-develop- ment policy advocate Nipon Poapongsakorn, a distinguished member of the technical staff at the Thailand Development Research Institute, said the current draft is better equipped to deal with the controversial ban on trade in rice vari- ety. But the challenge remains how to main tain diversity in production while also main taining high standards,
he said Extending greater authority to the Rice Department seemed to be heading in the wrong direction, Nipon said. It should not play a regulator's role, but rather serve as a research institute on rice production The new law, he concurred, should be written with an eye to meeting future chal lenges.
The original bill, which didn'tsurvivethe draft stage, was aimed at "developing and stabilising rice production and the supply ain and protecting farmers' rights more effectively", resulting in "the utmost benefit to the whole production proces According to the drafters, the 22-page bill's six main sections foresaw the cre- ation of a policy body overseeing rice pro duction and management, pooling the authority of the Rice Department and other concerned officials,
collecting "big data" on rice-grain trades, and setting out penalties for violations The most controversial current compo- nent is Section 5, which concerns the man agement and supervision of rice produc- tion. The production of and trade in dif ferent rice varieties remain the subjects of heated debate The original draft addressed the issue in Article 26, which proposed a ban on trade in certain rice varieties without state certi fication but made an exception for small scale farming.
The clause drew strong oppo- sition based on the fear that farmers would still be forced to use only varieties produced nd sold in the market by farm-business firms or else face jail Complaints from other alternative farming and farmers'-rights advocacy groups resulted in the contentious article being dropped. Other articles were altered in the late d thiadest version to be tabled for second ing week.
The bill came with good intentions from people who wished to see holistic manage- ment for our rice production and market- ing,"said Witoon Lianchamroon, director of Biodiversity-Sustainable Agriculture- Sovereignty Action Thailand (the BioThai Foundation)
The real problem with it is thatthe broad public participation it was supposed to have was lacking, so some critical elements were omitted that were essential to production management being ableto withstand future challenges, including food security."
BioThai has been working with farmers across the nation for years and says it is the farmers who till lead the way in developing and improving rice varieties through their selection skills. World-renowned varieties suchas Hom Mali, for instance, derived from that wisdom and skill, long before any state agency certified it,
Witoon said Overthe last 10years, as interest in organ
ic produce boomed, many rice farmers have parlayed their traditional skills as growers to become breeders. They've created new rice varieties such as aromatic Chor Ratree, which is Nakhon Sawan's answer to Hom Maliand Pathum Thani I andthe Yellowrice grain cultivated in Yasothon, which is full of folic acid,
a boon to pregnant women. These varieties tend to be exchanged among farmers and traded locally before earning state certification, aprocess that can takeyears because it involves scientificstudy to confirm that the variety's distinctive traits are stable. BioThai's findings are in line with those ofthe Rice Department itself, which says up to 49 percent ofrice varieties are those devel- oped and improved by farmers. That's in stark contrast to the 6 per cent of varieties it has developed and certified,
another 6 per cent coming from its community rice cen- tres and cooperatives, and 18 percent derived from rice-business firms All of this is ignored in the current draft of the legislation, which instead focuses on waysto regulate the state-certified varieties, Witoon pointed out.
And it extends state support only to farmers who growthestate-certified vari- eties Worse, the greater authority given the Rice Department under the newly added Article 27/4 can also be enforced through the 1975 Plant Variety Act, which bars trade in uncertified plant varieties, including rice Witoon believes the bill runs counter to realities in the field and fails to correct mis takes made in the past. He partially blames the state's mindset when writing laws,
which gives priority to enforcement and private-sector benefits while overriding community rights BioThai has asked the drafters to delay further deliberation so that the public has more time to weigh in on the issues "Rice is not just about products on the market," Witoon said. "It's about the way of life, the culture. These dimensions need to be weighed before a decision is made so we can maintain the diversity and resilience that could help us survive against future challenges,
including food securityand con- trol by big business. That resilience is in the hands of our farmers Macro economist and rural-develop- ment policy advocate Nipon Poapongsakorn, a distinguished member of the technical staff at the Thailand Development Research Institute, said the current draft is better equipped to deal with the controversial ban on trade in rice vari- ety. But the challenge remains how to main tain diversity in production while also main taining high standards,
he said Extending greater authority to the Rice Department seemed to be heading in the wrong direction, Nipon said. It should not play a regulator's role, but rather serve as a research institute on rice production The new law, he concurred, should be written with an eye to meeting future chal lenges.
No comments
Post a Comment