Parliament urged to expedite action on Plant Breeders Bill
The Parliamentary Select Committee on Food, Agricultural and Cocoa Affairs has urged the House to expedite action on the passage of the Plant Breeders Bill.
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It said the passage of this bill would provide the incentive for research and private sector investment in seed production in the country.
This was contained in the committee’s report on the ratification of two ECOWAS regulations regarding quality control of plant seeds, seedlings and fertiliser quality control in the region.
The bill, which was laid before Parliament had been delayed due to varied concerns from some pressure groups, in what they described as the imposition of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) into the food chain.
They claimed the bill had been designed in a manner as to pre-empt the eventualities of government regulations such as those calling for the labelling of GM foods, or banning some of them for the sake of the environment or the health of Ghanaians.
Ratification of ECOWAS regulations
The committee also urged the house to ratify the ECOWAS regulations on the quality control, certification and marketing of plant seeds, seedlings and fertiliser quality control in the sub-region.
These two regulations are expected to provide a common legal framework to regulate fertiliser and seed trade within ECOWAS.
Having thoroughly examined the two regulations, the committee was of the view that Ghana’s accession to these regulations would ensure quality standards of seeds and fertilisers, as well as improve trade among ECOWAS members.
It said this would also encourage local production of quality seeds, ensure timely access to quality seeds and fertilisers by farmers, increase private sector investment in seed and fertiliser production, and safeguard the interest of farmers against adulteration, misleading claims and short weight.
Observations
The committee observed that regulating trans-boundary movement of seeds and fertilisers across the sub-region was essential in ensuring availability of quality seeds and fertilisers among ECOWAS member countries as part of measures to increase productivity and achieve food security.
It said the regulation relating to seeds made provisions for a seed catalogue for the registration of seeds.
“Each member state is to develop its country specific catalogue, listing all seed varieties developed in the country. The list in the country specific catalogue is then submitted to the ECOWAS Secretariat for gazetting in the catalogue of the sub-region,” the report stated.
“In this regard, only seeds catalogued and published in a recognised document would be accepted in member states as certified seeds. Under the regulation, a seed registered in the name of a particular country cannot be registered in the name of another country,” it added.
The committee also observed that, to derive the benefits envisaged under the regulations, it would be imperative that the intellectual property rights pertaining to varieties developed in Ghana are officially registered and recognised.
“This will strengthen the position of the country in the event of a dispute with another member country over the registration of a given variety. It is, therefore, imperative that Parliament expedites work on the passage of the Plant Breeders Bill to complement the effective implementation of the regulations,” it said.