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Transgenic rice once again proposed as solution to bacterial blight outbreaks, this time in Africa

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Scientists with an international rice initiative have been raising the alarm about a strain of bacterial blight causing outbreaks in rice fields in East Africa, and they say the patented transgenic varieties they have developed are the solution.

The scientists are with the Healthy Crops Project, a non-profit consortium funded by the Gates Foundation that brings together US and German universities, the French national research institute (IRD), the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and others. In a scientific article published in June 2023, the team claims to have identified an outbreak of a Chinese variant of bacterial blight in Tanzania, which was previously unknown on the continent, and then to have employed gene-editing techniques to confer broad resistance to bacterial blight in rice grown in Africa.

The scientists plan to first introduce their transgenic rice in Kenya, where recent regulations allow for the introduction of gene-edited crops. They have already crossed their resistant line with a variety called Komboka, which was developed by IRRI and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation. While team leader Wolf Frommer told GRAIN they have “no interest in making profits from small scale producers”, he acknowledged that there is a patent on their gene-edited rice lines. He also said outbreaks of the Chinese bacterial blight strain have now spread to Kenya and Madagascar.

This is not the first time that IRRI and its partners have proposed GM rice as a solution to bacterial blight. Twenty years ago, farmer and consumer groups in Asia protested against the introduction of a rice known as “BB rice”— IRRI’s first transgenic rice to be field tested at its research centre in the Philippines. The Healthy Crops gene-edited rice varieties would be the first transgenic lines to be commercialised in Africa, if the project moves forward.

Groups in Asia that were opposed to IRRI’s “BB rice” argued that bacterial blight outbreaks are a product of IRRI’s green revolution model. The disease only began to be a major problem when IRRI’s semi-dwarf varieties were planted over large areas, replacing diverse local varieties with vast, uniform monocultures. The uniformity and reliance on huge amounts of chemical fertilisers created the ideal breeding grounds for bacterial blight and other diseases. IRRI’s response, beyond the promotion of chemical pesticides, was to try and integrate resistant genes from farmer varieties into its varieties, but this single gene resistance (or even multiple gene resistance) was inevitably overcome by the disease, leading to an endless race to try and identify and integrate new genes, and an escalation in pesticide use. Those opposing BB rice argued that the GMO rice would also not provide durable resistance, and that the only effective solution was to bring back diversity in the fields by restoring farmer seed systems and by moving away from chemical fertilisers and pesticides to practices that keep disease pressures down. IRRI never did manage to gain approval for the release of “BB rice” in Asia.

The situation is similar in Tanzania and Kenya. For decades now, farmers have resisted constant efforts by IRRI and other agencies to get them to abandon their farmer varieties and switch to the so-called high-yielding varieties (HYVs), including the Komboka variety of rice that the Healthy Crops team is now gene-editing. Farmer seeds still account for the vast majority of rice grown in Tanzania, one of the only countries in Africa that is self-sufficient in rice. This push for HYVs has been especially heavy in the “epicentre” of the recent bacterial blight outbreak identified by the Healthy Crops team: the Dakawa irrigation scheme in Tanzania’s fertile Morogoro Region.

It is noteworthy that the outbreak appears to have first affected fields planted to a variety called Saro 5, which has been promoted by numerous donors including the World Bank, USAID, AGRA and the Gates Foundation, despite its requirement for high levels of chemical fertilisers. For several years, the Norwegian fertiliser company Yara heavily promoted Saro 5, in combination with its fertilisers, under the Southern Agriculture Growth Corridor of Tanzania (SAGCOT) programme. Saro 5 seeds were given out to farmers for free and were multiplied at the Chollima Rice Institute in Dakawa and distributed to farmers in other parts of the country. These different agencies and companies have thus spread a variety of rice highly susceptible to a new strain of bacterial blight across many farms in Tanzania, creating the conditions for the disease to amplify and spread.

Several rice farmers in Dakawa contacted by Tanzania’s national farmers’ organisation MVIWATA confirmed that the disease is present in their fields. They said that the government has been promoting Saro 5 to deal with the disease, but that this has failed dramatically, since Saro 5 is highly susceptible. “Saro 5 is the type of seed that is mostly affected,” says Saumini Hamisi, a rice farmer at Dakawa.

The farmers also said that the national research agency and the extension agents in the area have been telling farmers to use various pesticides against the disease, which has done nothing to help either.

Some speculate that this new strain of bacterial blight came to Dakawa via the Chinese province of Yunnan, since this strain of the disease is only found there. They say that infected material was likely brought over by the Chongqing Zhongyi Seed Company, which took over the Chinese Agro-technology Demonstration Centre built in Dakawa in 2009 with cooperation funds from China. Like the other foreign funded programmes at Dakawa, the Chinese initiative aimed to displace local varieties, in this case with Chongqing Zhongyi’s patented hybrid varieties. The Chinese seed company has not commented on these speculations, and did not respond to GRAIN’s inquiries either. The possibility raises serious concerns, given that Chinese seed companies are engaged in hybrid rice programmes in many other countries across Africa and the world.

But whether or not the Chinese seed company is the source, the disease is now spreading without it, as the Chinese project shut down last year. The question now is how to deal with the outbreak.

In Tanzania and other rice growing regions of the world, farmers have long managed bacterial blight and other diseases. Farmers in the Philippines with the farmer-scientist network MASIPAG, for instance, do regularly select for disease resistance within their farmer varieties of rice, but their main focus is not on breeding for resistance but in using farming practices that negate the factors that favour pest or disease population build-up and outbreaks. According to MASIPAG scientist and founding member, Dr. Chito Medina, this includes planting at least three different rice varieties on each farm “so that the differential resistance of each variety prevents the development and outbreak of any biotype or any continuous increase of population of any biotype or kind of pest or pathogen” (a technique that is also used to control rice diseases in Yunnan). They also deploy certain water management techniques and avoid the use of chemical fertilisers, especially nitrogen fertilisers, which increases the reproductive rate of insects and pathogens, including bacterial blight. Medina says that, because of this approach, “there have been no reports among MASIPAG farmers of any outbreaks or recurrent pest or disease problems for a long time”, despite the presence of many strains of bacterial blight across the country.

The local varieties favoured by farmers in East Africa may be susceptible to the bacterial blight strains now circulating in the region. But this does not have to lead to major crop losses. Rather than use the outbreak as another excuse to destroy farmer seed systems, efforts must focus on helping farmers to build up resistance within their local varieties through selection and seed sharing, and to utilise farming practices that can control the disease. It is bad enough that a foreign-funded programme brought a disease outbreak; it will be much worse if this paves the way for another foreign-funded programme to displace local varieties with patented, transgenic rice seeds.

Original Source: Grain.org

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Witness Radio petitions chief prosecutor: Want 34 community land rights defenders and activists released from prison.

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By Witness Radio team.

In the Hoima District, Western Uganda, an urgent and immediate action is crucial to halt an ongoing land grab. The work of community land rights defenders, activists, and local leaders has unfortunately been criminalized, with thirty-four (34) people from Rwobunyonyi, Kirindasojo, and Kihohoro villages falsely accused and sent to different prisons in the Hoima district.

Criminal files No. CRB 330-2022 has Busobozi Patrick, Kaija Phillip Osborn, Mbabazi Isaya, Wembabazi Denis, Tumusiime David, and Abitegeka David charged with aggravated robbery, while the CRB 84-2023 file has Magezi Lawrence, Kaahwa Nelson Komugisa Junior, Mugenyi Vincent, and others on murder charges. The files have been established to gang the work of community defenders and activists.

According to sections 189 and 286 (2) of the Penal Code Act cap 120, both offenses carry the death penalty upon conviction.

As observed above, community land rights defenders, activists, and local leaders have been targeted since 2022. The number of targeted defenders keeps on growing. Sadly, those who have been remanded to prison are still waiting for their cases to be tried, which is tantamount to judicial harassment and persecution.

Witness Radio findings indicate that one Fred Kato Mugumba allegedly orchestrated the land grab. He is backed by officials from Hoima police, Hoima district Office of Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP), and judicial staff. Mugambe and his accomplices aim to evict over 500 small-scale farming families from their ancestral land.

If the land grab is successful, the community will suffer a devastating loss of 800 hectares of land used for food cultivation. This loss will lead to children dropping out of school, families breaking apart due to lack of resources, and a significant increase in food insecurity, hunger, poverty, and illiteracy levels in Uganda.

The affected communities have a deep-rooted connection to the land, having lived on it for over 50 years without disruption. The ongoing persecution by Mugamba and his agents is, therefore, particularly shocking and unjust.

The same land almost ended the life of Junior Lands Minister Sam Mayanja, who was targeted with gunshots when he visited the contested land on August 24, 2023, to protect land grab victims. The current situation highlights the urgent need for intervention from a powerful office.

Witness Radio has, among other interventions, petitioned the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) and urged the Chief Prosecutor’s office to call the file from Hoima High Court.

The office of the DPP is a constitutional body mandated to direct police to investigate any information of a criminal nature, institute criminal proceedings against any person or authority in any court other than a court-martial, take over and continue any criminal proceedings instituted by any person or authority, and discontinue at any stage before judgment any criminal proceedings.

Uganda is experiencing an influx of land-based investments, which have fueled land-grabbing tendencies and criminalization of community land rights and environmental defenders and activists’ work.

In the petition, Witness Radio alleges that Fred Kato Mugamba fabricated these charges in collusion with John Angwadya, a former local council member and chairperson of one of the targeted villages, Rwabunyonyi, as part of a strategy to facilitate the unlawful eviction of the community from their land.

“It is deeply concerning that the accused remain in protracted detention despite the constitutional guarantee of a fair and speedy trial and right to liberty. This is a clear violation of defenders’ fundamental rights and raises serious concerns about the criminal justice system’s integrity in this matter. The prolonged delay in their trial and the apparent ulterior motive behind the charges necessitate immediate intervention to prevent the miscarriage of justice,” the petition reads in part.

Despite multiple attempts by the community to engage various stakeholders, including Hoima’s district leadership, the Hoima District Police, the State House Land Protection Unit, and the State Minister for Lands, Dr. Sam Mayanja, their efforts have been futile. Instead of finding justice, those who resist are met with criminal charges and continued evictions, leaving many families landless and helpless.

“The efforts of our clients and community individuals engaging the different offices are viewed as a threat to the evictors, hence fabricating different charges against the accused persons to pave the way for the land grabbers to occupy the land in the absence of the accused persons. It is evident that the pending charges of murder and aggravated robbery are being made as a tool to harass and deprive our clients and family members,” the petition further reads.

In the petition to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Witness Radio has called for an urgent review of the circumstances surrounding the arrests and prosecutions of the accused. Witness Radio is requesting the issuance of a Nolle Prosequi to quash the charges and the immediate release of the prisoners.

The organization also demands that the case be expedited to prevent further unwarranted deprivation of liberty and calls for an independent investigation into any potential abuses within the criminal justice system.

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The joint final review of the National Land Policy 2013, a significant and collaborative effort between the government and Civil society organizations, is underway.

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By Witness Radio team.

Under the leadership of the Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development (MLHUD), and in partnership with Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) led by Participatory Ecological Land Use Management (PELUM), a crucial final review of the National Land Policy (NLP) 2013 is taking place in Kampala.

The Consultative event is a unique and empowering opportunity for all land actors to actively contribute to shaping Uganda’s land governance framework. It seeks to engage CSOs in shaping reforms in the much-awaited National Land Policy, addressing pressing land-related concerns such as land grabbing, promoting equity in land access, and enhancing strategies for sustainable land management.

The land ministry is expected to present a revised 2024 draft of the basis for discussion and obtaining valuable input from land actors and PELUM Uganda members to boost the policy framework.

Uganda first adopted the National Land Policy in 2013 to ensure the efficient, equitable, and optimal utilization of land and land-based resources for national development. Grounded in principles drawn from the 1995 Constitution and other macro-policy frameworks such as Uganda Vision 2040 and the National Development Plan (NDP), the NLP has served as a comprehensive guideline for Uganda’s land ownership and management.

With a decade of implementation behind it, the Ministry of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development is now reviewing the policy to integrate emerging trends and challenges. This review is crucial as it will ensure the policy’s relevance in the evolving land governance landscape, directly impacting your daily lives. The consultation process underscores the government’s unwavering commitment to inclusive decision-making by involving civil society and key stakeholders in policy formulation, ensuring everyone’s voice is heard and valued.

The event will be broadcast live on Witness Radio. To listen live, download the Witness Radio App from the Play Store or visit our website, www.witnessradio.org.

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Businesses, banks and activists resist EC plans to strip back human rights legislation

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Today the European Commission introduced their ‘Omnibus simplification package’ to amend key laws of the EU Green Deal, including CSDDD, CSRD and Taxonomy. The package proposes significant changes, including the removal of civil liability provisions in the CSDDD and removing 80% of companies from scope in the CSRD.

The earlier announcement from the European Commission as well as the leaked draft to reform recently-agreed EU laws such as the CSDDD has already come under attack from businesses, expertsinvestors and activists alike.

The UN Global Compact and companies including Unilever, Vattenfall and Nestlé have also expressed their concern. Nestlé Europe’s Bart Vandewaetere said that it had “been reporting on [environmental impact and human rights issues in the supply chain] ourselves for years. European regulations mean that more companies have to start doing that. That creates a level playing field and we welcome that.”

Former president of Ireland Mary Robinson added: “Von der Leyen’s new Commission’s attempt to eviscerate these sustainability laws must not be agreed by the European Parliament and by the member states.”

The European Banking Federation warned that weakening the CSRD could create challenges for banks, echoing concerns from more than 160 investors who cautioned that the Omnibus package could harm investment and increase legal uncertainty.

CSOs such as the European Coalition for Corporate Justice (ECCJ)WWF and the Clean Clothes Campaign have also sharply criticised the proposal. The ECCJ writes the proposal is “not simplification, but full-scale deregulation designed to dismantle corporate accountability”.

Workers’ organisations and trade unions from garment-producing countries across Asia, Europe and Latin America also opposed the ‘Omnibus’ this week, highlighting the risk the proposal will “exclude most supply chain workers” including 49 million home workers.

Source: Business & Human Rights Resource Centre

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