Posted on August 13, 2016 Press Release During the press conference PKMT national coordinator Raja Mujeeb, provincial coordinator sindh Ali Nawaz Jalbani, national core group member Hakim Gul and district coordinator ghotki Ali Gohar speaking to the media. August 12, 2016 The Standing Committee on National Food Security and Research (NFS&R) on August 9, 2016 approved the ‘Plant Breeders Bill 2016’ …
Year: 2018
Decent Wages for Agricultural Laborers!
Posted on October 17, 2016 Press Release: World Hunger Day The Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nation holds 16th October as “World Hunger Day” every year for the past 70 years. The United Nations slogan for World Hunger Day is “Climate is changing. Food and Agriculture Must Too.” However, Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT) and Roots for Equity in …
Farmers asked to avoid corporate agriculture
Posted on March 14, 2017 M Haleem Asad Speakers at a national conference named “Sustaining Lives and Livelihood: Fighting for Food Sovereignty and Climate Justice,” held at the Auditorium Arts Council of Pakistan, Karachi asked farmers across the country to reject corporate agriculture which promotes intensive use of chemicals and pesticides, hybrid and genetic seeds that would damage the very foundations …
Statement on behalf of Farmers Constituency during UNEP Senior Official Meeting
Posted on September 7, 2017 Agenda Item 8 Wali Haider, Roots for Equity, Pakistan Thank you Mr. Chairman! I am Wali Haider from Roots for Equity, Pakistan on behalf of the Farmers Constituency of the Asia Pacific Regional CSOs Engagement Mechanism (APRCEM). While we appreciate the space for interventions given to CSOs, we also would like to stress that we feel …
Destruction of the Cotton Harvest: A Golden Opportunity for Transnational Corporations?
Posted on November 14, 2015 Dr. Azra Talat Sayeed In Pakistan, newspapers have been rife with news on the pink bollworm attack on the cotton harvest this year. The scenario is indeed disastrous on many accounts. Of course, the very first in line to be caught in the destruction are Pakistan’s millions of small farmers. With cotton being a major cash …
Cotton crop disaster: opportunity for global seed corporations
Posted on November 23, 2015 AZRA TALAT SAYEED NEWSPAPERS have been rife with reports about a pink bollworm attack on the cotton crop this year. The scenario is indeed disastrous on many accounts. Of course, the very first thing to be destroyed is the livelihood of the country’s millions of small farmers. With cotton being a major cash crop, millions rely …
Experts question approval of GM corn, cotton to be sold in market
Posted on April 4, 2016 JAMAL SHAHID ISLAMABAD: The government has approved over 100 varieties of genetically modified corn and cotton to be sold in the market, but the move has drawn concern from some agriculture experts. They have argued that the regulatory system and national bio-safety laws, and the standard operating procedure for the commercialisation of genetically engineered technology have …
Controversy over commercial use of GM corn seeds
Posted on April 4, 2016 ASHFAK BOKHARI A HEATED controversy is raging over whether or not the government has given a go-ahead to some multinationals to make commercial sale of GM corn seeds at a time when the Seed (Amendment) Bill, which allows it, has yet to be passed by the Senate. The companies claim to have received a formal permission …
RISKING AGRI-OUTPUT: BIOSAFETY BODY APPROVES GM SEEDS WITHOUT CONSULTATION
Posted on May 20, 2016 The Express Tribune, May 20th, 2016 Shahzad Anwar ISLAMABAD: Commercialisation of genetically modified (GM) seeds, which could cause cancer according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), has been approved without consultation with key stakeholders such as farmers, environmentalists and consumers. The National Bio-safety Committee (NBC), which examines seed varieties for approval, gave the go-ahead to GM seeds …
Farmers Reject GM Cotton/BT Cotton
Posted on September 1, 2016 Press Release August 31, 2016 Pakistan Kissan Mazdoor Tehreek (PKMT) and Roots for Equity had organized a protest rejecting the promotion of Bt/GM in Punjab, Pakistan in front of Lahore Press Club. Farmers from various districts from Punjab participated in the protest. Addressing to the protest PKMT secretary Wali Haider told that government is pursuing policies …