Farmers, environmental and development organisations around the world are demonstrating this week with an online declaration against the patenting of seeds and animals. On 20 July, the European Patent Office (EPO) will reach its decision on the patenting of a type of broccoli and a type of tomato. SWISSAID is calling on all responsible persons in Switzerland and Europe to take a vehement stand against these patents.
Global declaration»

Our campaign this year is called “Freedom – not dependence on the seed giants”. The reason for this is that seed diversity is at risk – and therefore the very existence of many farmers and their families is too. Small farmers in the Third World are still only able to buy a single specially cultivated type of seed to grow many of their staple foods. This is cost-intensive and means the use of high-priced chemical fertilisers and pesticides becomes essential. They can’t even continue to grow their own crops either because the farmers are dependent on seed manufacturers which operate internationally. Many indigenous varieties of rice, corn and tomatoes, on the other hand, are disappearing. Yet the advantages of using local varieties are obvious: they are adapted to the climate and the soil – and they belong to the farmers themselves. This is precisely why SWISSAID is doing everything in its power to help small farming families in the Third World to protect their indigenous seeds and to be able to continue growing them. More on seed diversity» 

Since 2006, under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers Act, indigenous communities in India have been able to claim their rights to use the forests surrounding their villages – in theory. But the bureaucratic obstacles are enormous. Now, with support from SWISSAID, the villages of Mendha Lekha (1,800 hectares of forest) and Marda (880 hectares) in Maharashtra state have finally succeeded in doing this. Mendha Lekha and Marda are the first and only villages in India where the people who have traditionally lived in, utilised and protected the forests have been given the legal rights to them – on 15 August, India's Independence Day. The rights have now been formally handed over to the villagers. Newspaper report»