SWISSAID is proud that its Indian partner organisation Shashwat came in 3rd in the case study competition of LivelihoodsIndia. Congratulations! Shashwat president Anand Kapoor and Budhaji Damse described in this case study the outlines of the successful project with tribals who develop fisheries in the Dimbhe dam region. The best case studies will be published in a book by LivelihoodsIndia.

• Abstract of the Shashwat project
• Full case study of the Shashwat project (pdf, 5 MB)
  

Dar es Salaam, 15.11.2011. An international conference on Food Sovereignty calls for Government to suspend plans to spread GM biotechnology across Tanzania. The conference, hosted by international NGO SWISSAID, explores why communities around the world are rejecting GM foods and standing up for the rights of farmers and consumers to choose what they grow and what they eat. More»»

The Swiss Forum for International Agricultural Research has presented an “SFIAR Award”. The prize is given to teams of researchers conducting “new, innovative and results-oriented agricultural research” with the aim of supporting “relevant agricultural research for development”. The selection of this year’s prize-winning team prompted SWISSAID to publish a critical commentary: The decision to honour agricultural research based on gene technology sends the wrong signal. More»

September 22, 2011. What research is needed to eradicate hunger? Is Switzerland on the right track? These questions were the focus of a public event organised by SWISSAID and the Centre for Development and Environment (CDE) and held yesterday evening at the University of Bern. All participants agreed on one fundamental issue: the world needs a change of direction in global agriculture and agricultural research – in favour of small-scale farming and multi-functional agriculture.

• Pressrelease
• Documentation

The SWISSAID coordination office in India just published a case study about the village Mendha (Lekha), Maharashtra, which succeeded in claiming the Forest Rights Act as one of the very first villages in the whole country. Read the entire case study (PDF).  

Bern, Zürich, July 27, 2011 –The European Patent Office awarded Syngenta a patent on melons „with a pleasant taste“, after an opposition filed by another seed company to revoke the patent had been rejected. According to a poll among Swiss consumers a majority of respondents reject such patents as well as the food products they protect

• Press release
• Arguments
  
• Survey Result
• Fact sheet
  

Agriculture in Tanzania is still free of genetic technology – just about. The major agricultural companies, however, are putting pressure on the government and the authorities to authorize the use of genetically modified seeds. Several organisations, including SWISSAID in Tanzania, have formed an alliance against the use of genetically modified agricultural products.
Read more
Press release, May 18 2011

Bern/Lausanne, 22 September. SWISSAID congratulates Simonetta Sommaruga on her election to the Swiss Federal Council. Ms Sommaruga chaired the board of the SWISSAID foundation for five years and is still a member. The direction Switzerland will take in giving development aid will be an important policy item during her first year in the government. More

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»