Land grabbing in Africa

Ahlan Aisha
land grabbing and patenting of seeds are the insult that was added to injury.
corporates are also patenting seeds that do not belong to them. In the eighties a company patented a type of Indian rice that has been known to indian farmers for thousands of years. a patent means that no one may use the seeds unless they buy them from that company. Indian activists headed by Vandana Shiva were able to take them to court and force them out of this seed piracy.
today I was listening to NPR and the topic was whether there will be enough food to feed the population on earth. the answer was it might be possible if we escaped the droughts that were threatening agriculture. another reason mentioned was the patents held by transnationals. i would not be surprised if someone sued sudanese farmers for planting seeds of Mayo durra or faitareeta for that matter.
Karl Marx is going to be totally relevant in the coming decades.
stay well
*** the Association of Concerned African Scholars has been active on these matters, together with urging africans not to accept CIA money for education.
asma

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