E-Kantipur

On Friday this week many citizens (Nepalis and non-Nepalis alike) have planned a protest to the proposed USAID-Monsanto company tie up, made public on September 12 this year, to promote several of the latter’s hybrid corn seeds among 20,000 farmers of Chitwan, Nawalparasi and Kavre districts.

This protest is taking place at a time when several senior officials in the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives have publicly denied, contrary to earlier USAID communique (published on September 13 on USAID Nepal’s website), that the Government of Nepal was involved in the USAID-Monsanto deal. On November 18, in an apparent turnaround, USAID published another communique saying, “no new programs have been entered into by the US Government with the Govenrnment of Nepal to introduce hybrid maize seed as some articles suggest.” Interestingly, unlike the previous one, this new communique did not even mention Monsanto. Is the deal with Monsanto scrapped, then? We are not sure. “We will wait to see how the Government of Nepal wants to proceed,” a response from US Embassy, Nepal reads on its Facebook page after several people asked for further clarification.

As of this writing, there has been no categorical ‘yes’ or ‘no’ about its deal with Monsanto. If its operations in India and Pakistan are any indication, it will proceed with its tie up with Monsanto if the opportunity arises. But for now, let’s assume this project is on hold pending how the Government of Nepal wants to proceed.

Still, I am not sure if USAID has realised by now that the path it almost chose, by tying up with Monsanto, will neither ensure food security, nor lead to better lives for Nepal’s farmers.  Other than being quoted in some media reports, Nepali officials at the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives have not issued any public statement denying the possibility of promoting hybrid corns. Therefore, as citizens we must act on the side of caution. For most of our political class, this is perhaps one of those jhina masina kuraharu (nitty-gritty small stuff).

How many might show up to the protest? It is anybody’s guess. Some of the organisers in Kathmandu are a bit worried that there might not be a lot of people. Some others are worried that farmers may not be among those protesting. But what is very certain is that anybody who is remotely concerned with food and agriculture in Nepal should be there.

Anybody who is genuinely concerned about food security in Nepal should be at this protest. Promoting Monsanto’s hybrid corn won’t achieve that goal. Nor would it increase farmers’ income because as a cash crop for small holders in Nepal, feed corn is perhaps the lousiest of options.

Monsanto’s hybrid is also bad news for those who are concerned about Nepal’s wildlife. This seed is to be promoted as a part of high chemical-based agricultural technology promotion. Use of pesticides and chemical fertilisers will inevitably shoot up. That means fish in our water bodies, birds in our landscapes and other wild animals, which are part of the food chain, will be further threatened.

There are many in Nepal who are questioning the way donors push their specific interests because of their money power. They should also be at this protest. The way the USAID-Monsanto deal unfolded in Nepal is an example of how shrouded it is in non-transparency. As citizens—Nepalis, Americans, and others—we need to demand accountability from our governing institutions. This protest is one of the many ways we can do that.

Nepal offers a unique opportunity for producing high-value organic crops in its very diverse bio-climatic conditions. The promotion of chemicalised monoculture will ruin the prospect of this. Therefore, those who are involved in organic trade—either for export or for the domestic market—should join this protest.

Most importantly, by trying to cater to the interest of Monsanto, with its deep pockets and revolving door access to political power in Washington, USAID is missing an opportunity to

genuinely tap into the resources of some of the most creative farming initiatives in the US itself.

For example, Wisconsin-based Growing Power is at the forefront of amazingly productive farming innovations. Its latest project involves setting up a multi-story vertical farm that also will house its office and training facilities, produce all of its energy through solar power, recycles all of its water and organic waste to produce fish, goat, vegetables, herbs, honey and many other food items through an almost closed-loop organic production process. In its three acre farms in Miluwakee, Wisconsin, it has

been producing over 4,000 quintals of vegetables each year—that is almost half a million kilograms of vegetables.

Besides vegetables, it also raises several hundred chickens and scores of goats. It has been doing this with the use of no chemicals and only by using open-pollinated seeds. It produces hundreds of tons of vermin-compost by recycling all of its organic

waste within its farm and 400 tons of organic waste from restaurants in town. This offers perhaps one of the most productive and lucrative small-holder operations on earth.

Instead of Monsanto, which is interested only in monopoly control over seed markets throughout the world, USAID should try to get help from those in Growing Power or similar other initiatives with expertise that is directly beneficial to small-holder farmers in Nepal. None other than United States First Lady, Michelle Obama visited one of its recent farms in Chicago on October 25 this year.

People who  are protesting in front of USAID office in Maharajgunj should ask it not only to stop making secret deals with Monsanto, but also to seek advice from many others who are involved in creating ecologically sound, small-scale, highly productive, economically profitable and highly bio-diverse farming practices.

    anilbhattarai@gmail.com

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