Globalisation and Seed Sovereignty in Sub-

Saharan Africa Clare O'Grady Walshe pdf download

https://textbookfull.com/product/globalisation-and-seed-sovereignty-in-sub-saharan-africa-clare-
ogrady-walshe/

★★★★★ 4.8/5.0 (23 reviews) ✓ 86 downloads ■ TOP RATED

"Fantastic PDF quality, very satisfied with download!" - Emma W.

DOWNLOAD EBOOK
 Globalisation and Seed Sovereignty in Sub-Saharan Africa
Clare O'Grady Walshe pdf download

TEXTBOOK EBOOK TEXTBOOK FULL

Available Formats

■ PDF eBook Study Guide TextBook

EXCLUSIVE 2025 EDUCATIONAL COLLECTION - LIMITED TIME

INSTANT DOWNLOAD VIEW LIBRARY

Collection Highlights

Political Mobilizations and Democratization in Sub-Saharan

Africa Wolfgang Stuppert

Building a Resilient and Sustainable Agriculture in Sub-

Saharan Africa Abebe Shimeles

Digital Entrepreneurship in Sub-Saharan Africa:

Challenges, Opportunities and Prospects Nasiru D. Taura

The Regulation of Mobile Money: Law and Practice in Sub-

Saharan Africa Sunduzwayo Madise
Agriculture and Ecosystem Resilience in Sub Saharan Africa
Livelihood Pathways Under Changing Climate Yazidhi
Bamutaze

Ethnicities and Tribes in Sub-Saharan Africa: Opening Old

Wounds 1st Edition S. N. Sangmpam (Auth.)

An Economic History of Development in sub-Saharan Africa:

Economic Transformations and Political Changes Ellen
Hillbom

Value Chains in Sub Saharan Africa Challenges of

Integration into the Global Economy Sören Scholvin

Rurality Social Justice and Education in Sub Saharan

Africa Volume I Theory and Practice in Schools Alfred
Masinire
Globalisation and Seed
Sovereignty in
Sub-Saharan Africa
Clare O‘Grady Walshe
 International Political Economy Series

Series Editor
Timothy M. Shaw
Visiting Professor
University of Massachusetts Boston
Boston, MA, USA
Emeritus Professor, University of London, London, UK
The global political economy is in flux as a series of cumulative crises
impacts its organization and governance. The IPE series has tracked its
development in both analysis and structure over the last three decades. It
has always had a concentration on the global South. Now the South
increasingly challenges the North as the centre of development, also
reflected in a growing number of submissions and publications on indebted
Eurozone economies in Southern Europe. An indispensable resource for
scholars and researchers, the series examines a variety of capitalisms and
connections by focusing on emerging economies, companies and sectors,
debates and policies. It informs diverse policy communities as the estab-
lished trans-Atlantic North declines and ‘the rest’, especially the BRICS,
rise.

More information about this series at

http://www.palgrave.com/gp/series/13996
 Clare O’Grady Walshe

Globalisation and Seed

Sovereignty in
Sub-­Saharan Africa
Clare O’Grady Walshe
School of Law and Government
Dublin City University
Dublin, Ireland

International Political Economy Series

ISBN 978-3-030-12869-2    ISBN 978-3-030-12870-8 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12870-8

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer
Nature Switzerland AG 2019
This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the
Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of
translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on
microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval,
electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now
known or hereafter developed.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are
exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information
in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the pub-
lisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the
material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The
publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institu-
tional affiliations.

Cover image © Rob Friedman/iStockphoto.com

This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature
Switzerland AG.
The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland
 To my adorable children, Caoimhe and John; to the work of
seed savers everywhere; and to the memory of those who died and continue to
die in needless famines in a world of abundance, beauty and diversity.
 Preface

This book was inspired by my background in environmental, justice and

human rights work. From early days as a toxics campaigner for Greenpeace
International, to country director of Greenpeace in Ireland and trustee of
Greenpeace International Council in the 1990s to my work with Irish
Seed Savers since 2008, I have a passionate interest in these interrelated
issues, which affect people and planet and determine the future of both.
Greenpeace involvement was instructive on a number of counts. It
brought me to some of the most beautiful places on the planet and to
some of those that have been the most devastated and destroyed by pollu-
tion. I was involved in various campaigns associated with the negative
effects of intensified farming and chemicalisation of agriculture as the dan-
gers of the corporate takeover of biological systems were starting to
emerge. Of particular concern at that time was the introduction of Genetically
Modified Organisms (GMOs), following the Agreement on Agriculture
and big chemical/pharma interest moving into seed and genetic acquisi-
tion of plant species. There was already alarm that various globalising insti-
tutions were being formed alongside increasingly powerful transnational
corporations (TNCs) that were significantly changing the rules, account-
ability and ownership of the agricultural landscape with potentially nega-
tive consequences for people and environment. This period also saw
increasing public mobilisation and deepening awareness of the dangers of
biodiversity and species loss exacerbating the effects of climate change. It
was finding more traction everywhere. By 2005 and 2010 leading scien-
tists across the globe reported in the UN millennium ecosystems assess-
ment reports that two-thirds of the earth’s ecosystems were in danger of

vii
viii PREFACE

collapsing, thus undermining the possibility of achieving the solemnly

declared UN Millennium Development Goals, the precursors to
the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). I had the opportunity to
work on these issues at a national level through my work on the Irish Aid
Advisory Committee, the Heritage Council and the National Task Force
on Green Enterprise. In the latter, I successfully pushed for the inclusion
of biodiversity in the text of the final document. This was a significant
inclusion as it signalled a willingness at the state level to accept that biodi-
versity and the ecological system are the bedrock of a healthy economy
and society into the future. My insistence on its importance and inclusion
came from having become a grower and a seedsaver myself.
In the early 2000s, having started a family in a rural village in Ireland,
we dug up the back garden and began growing heritage varieties of Irish
seeds from the Irish Seed Savers Association (ISSA). ISSA is a small charity
dedicated to the conservation and restoration of heirloom varieties of pre-
dominantly, though not exclusively, native seeds. I was enthralled to
observe the capacity and abundance of locally adapted seeds, compara-
tively to other seed varieties. Some of these seeds had been repatriated
from as far away as the Vavilov seed bank in St Petersburg in Russia.
The work of Irish Seed Savers opened my eyes to the coevolution of
people and seeds throughout human history. I began to see a pattern
emerging of new global institutions alongside powerful geopolitical allies
determining seed and therefore food futures on every continent, some-
times undeterred, indeed assisted by the precarious fragility of the state.
This manifested itself in the war zones of Iraq and later Afghanistan, where
seed laws were completely changed during times of military occupation, to
venture philanthropists pushing GM and commercial seed agendas on
cash-strapped, poverty-compromised countries in the Global South. It
appeared that a new global seed order was being shaped through a highly
sophisticated means of appropriating the legal tools of international law to
usurp local seeds and establish commercial seed systems, which greatly
benefit corporate seed interests.
I was invited to join the board of directors at ISSA in 2008 and had the
privilege of introducing the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, to
open the first community seed bank in Ireland at Irish Seed Savers in
2011. This seed bank, adjoining the living library of a 20-acre farm, now
constitutes an important state and international collection of non-­
commercially available fruit and vegetable seed, numbering 800 varieties,
mostly Irish native varieties. The value of restoring such a community seed
 PREFACE ix

collection cannot be underestimated. Ireland, which suffered horrific fam-

ine in the 1840s when there was a dependence on predominantly one
variety of potato, ‘the lumper’, within a monoculture cropping system
during colonial times, continues to provide a salutary warning to the
world. Replicating such community seed initiatives everywhere now is
surely the most wise, hopeful and practical act of recovery, restoration and
conservation in the face of climate change, hunger and biodiversity loss.

Dublin, Ireland Clare O’Grady Walshe

 Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the team at Palgrave Macmillan for supporting the
publication of this book. They have encouraged me every step of the way
to transform the core research of my PhD into a comprehensive book that
can reach a wider audience. Their commitment and professionalism has
been unstinting from start to finish. Special thanks to Sarah Roughley and
Oliver Foster who organised everything so smoothly at Palgrave Macmillan
and Professor Timothy Shaw for welcoming me and my work into the
International Political Economy (IPE) series.
I want to thank those wonderful people who have funded this post-­
doctoral fellowship and made this book possible. Special thanks to The
Frank Jackson Foundation, in particular Pete Brown, who was so enthusi-
astic about my research in East Africa and was the first to come in behind
this project. Renowned Chef Darina Allen and the Slow Food Movement
in East Cork supporting my project meant so much to me, as it was in
Cork that my own involvement in environmental concerns began. I am
deeply grateful to Matt Dunwell of Ragman’s Farm in the UK and to
Action from Ireland (AfrI) and to other private donors whose support for
me has been so encouraging.
My thanks to the School of Law and Government in Dublin City
University (DCU) for awarding me a scholarship to pursue a PhD, which
is the basis for this book. Thanks especially to Professor Gary Murphy,
former Head of School, for his kindness and support throughout the
years, and to so many members of staff and student body who have helped
and stimulated me during my time at DCU.

xi
xii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My deepest gratitude goes to Professor Robert Elgie, who provided

such excellent supervision of my PhD and remains a dedicated mentor for
my work. I am so grateful for his unrelenting patience, respect and profes-
sionalism. It was a pleasure and an absolute privilege to work with him. He
consistently assisted me in bringing the best academic rigour to this work
and his commitment and unwavering support means so much to me.
I am especially grateful to Anita Hayes, who literally sowed the seeds
for this book through her inspirational work as the founder of the Irish
Seed Savers Association and introduced me to this important area of
enquiry and to a wonderful team of people there. She and her husband
Tommy have encouraged me every step of the way. Thanks also to all the
staff over the years at Irish Seed Savers, especially Jo Newton and to
Matteo Pettiti for scientific assistance over the years and for introducing
me to the inspirational work happening across Europe, particularly with
Rete Semi Ruralis in Italy. Thanks also to Dr. Paul Dowding, Fellow
Emeritus Botany, Trinity College Dublin Centre for the Environment,
and Matthew Jebb, Director of the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin,
Dublin, for their encouragement along the way.
Special thanks to Dr. Kathy Glavanis Grantham, thank you for your
enduring friendship and support over all the years since my earlier days at
University College Cork and for your generosity in introducing me to so
many wonderful Ethiopian academics, who assisted me during my field-
work, especially at Mekelle University, and in Addis.
Huge thanks to all the people who helped me in Kenya and Ethiopia.
To my wonderful friends, Mary and Gary, I give special thanks. You
opened every door for me and shared your lovely home with me in
Ethiopia. It hugely enriched my work. Thanks to so many people at the
various agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) who gen-
erously gave of their time. I am especially grateful to the Gaia Foundation
for introducing me to Dr. Melaku Worede, who is not simply a teacher. He
is rightly regarded as ‘A School’. Together with Regassa Feyissa and Dr.
Sue Edwards they introduced me to the rich and diverse agrarian world of
Ethiopia. Thank you all for your time and invaluable help. Thank you to
Dr. Fetien Abay at Mekelle University for her time and her introduction to
her barley research programme in the Highlands. My special thanks to all
the wonderful people of the communities who welcomed me into their
homes and co-operatives in Oromia and Tigray.
To the wonderful people of various NGOs who helped me along the
way, especially Patricia Wall and all the team at Trócaire and to the team at
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS xiii

Self Help Africa in Ethiopia, who provided me with so much help and
information, I am indebted to you all. Thanks to Brian Daly who intro-
duced me to his many colleagues at Diageo and for all their assistance.
Thanks to my true friends, Joe Murray of AfrI and Richard Moore of
Children in Crossfire for all your support. Your introductions ensured that
I was well looked after in Nairobi by Sean Cremin and P.J. McCamphill of
St Patricks Mission, and by Gebremichael Ghembera of Children in
Crossfire in Ethiopia who became my guide, translator and trusted friend.
I owe special thanks to Daniel Maingi of Kenyan Food Rights Alliance
(KEFRA) for so much assistance and insights and to all of the Kenyan
parliamentarians for your openness and hospitality at the Kenyan
Parliament.
Special thanks to the true strategic alliance that was the team of friends
who took over the care of our precious children during my fieldtrips to
Africa—Maryrose, Breda, Patricia, Moira, Sheelagh, Mary and Fionnuala
and my dear sister Joan (who even came to live in my house during one of
my fieldwork trips!). I am forever indebted to you all and to all my dear
friends, especially Sandra, Carmel, Sinéad, Blá, Gay, Bryan, Brian, Cormac,
Noel, Marie, Ann and Adi. A special word for Dervla Murphy who has
been a constant source of inspiration and support to me and to Denis
Halliday for unrelenting encouragement to get this book out. Special
thanks to ‘my lovelies’ aka my siblings, Helen, Joan and Edward, and to
my dear Mum and stepfather Jim for encouraging me over that elusive
finish line.
I offer my thanks to my own little family. My darling children, Caoimhe
and John, you know that you are both the light of my life. Thanks for all
the encouraging hugs, the cupcakes, the welcome distractions and the
comic relief. To Peter, thank you for supporting me in so many ways, at so
many levels over the years, including considerable technical assistance
which enabled me to bring this work to completion. And to my constant
four-legged companion Holly, for teaching me the value of keeping it in
the moment!
 Contents

1 The Core Dilemma: Seed Sovereignty and Globalisation  1

The Core Dilemma   2
From Food Security to Seed Sovereignty   4
Globalisation and Seed Sovereignty   5
Studying Seed Sovereignty: National Seed Laws   7
Studying Seed Sovereignty: Practice at the Local Level  12
Theorising Globalisation and Seed Sovereignty  17
The Role of the Researcher  18
Conclusion  20
References  20

2 Understanding Sovereignty in a Globalised World 25

Globalisation  27
Globalisation and Sovereignty  31
Hyperglobalists  33
Sceptics  40
Transformationalists  47
Conclusion  56
References  57

3 Seed Sovereignty and Globalisation 61

From Food Security to Seed Sovereignty  61
Food Security and Food Sovereignty  61
Seed Security and Seed Sovereignty  69

xv
xvi Contents

Threats to Seed Sovereignty  78

Threat 1: Climate Change  78
Threat 2: Conflict and Displacement  80
Threat 3: Changes in Farming Practices  81
Threat 4: Recent Technological Changes  82
Threat 5: TNCs  83
Threat 6: Legal Threats to Seed Sovereignty  85
Threat 7: Tied Aid and Philanthrocapitalism  87
Globalisation and Seed Sovereignty and Security  89
Hyperglobalists  90
Sceptics  98
The Transformationalists 105
Conclusion 110
References 110

4 Kenya: A Hyperglobalised Seed Law117

SPVAA 2012: A New Seed Act 119
The Story of the New Kenyan Seed Law: 2005–2012 126
The Road to SPVAA 2012: The Preparation for the New Seed Act 127
The Establishment of Two Task Forces to Change Seed
Legislation 128
Fast Track Law 1: The Seeds and Plants Varieties (Seeds)
Regulations, 2009 (Subsidiary Legislation) 131
Fast Track Law 2: The Seeds and Plant Varieties (National
Performance Trials) Regulations, 2009 132
The National Seed Policy 2010 133
Passage Through Parliament: SPVAA 2011 Bill Becomes
SPVAA 2012 Act 136
The Key Actors Behind the New Kenyan Seed Law (SPVAA 2012)  136
Conclusions from the Kenyan Case 150
References 152

5 Ethiopia: A Transformationalist Seed Law155

Ethiopia’s New Seed Act: 782/2013 157
The Story of the New Seed Proclamation 782/2013: 2006–2013 165
The Road Map to 782/2013: The Preparation for the New Seed
Proclamation 166
 Contents  xvii

The Key Actors Behind the New Ethiopian Seed Law 782/2013 178
Conclusions from the Ethiopian Seed Law Case 191
References 194

6 The Ethiopian Highlands: The Exercise of Seed

Sovereignty at the Local Level197
Seed Practice in Oromia Region 198
How the Decision to Switch to Malt Barley Production Was
Reached 203
Domestic State: Ethiopian Government Policies 1990s to the
Present 203
Local Application 208
The Key Actors Behind the Choice of Seed Practice 216
The Domestic Actors: The Role of the Ethiopian State 216
The National Level: The Ethiopian Style Developmental State
and Emergence of the Value-Chain Approach 217
The Local Level: The Twin-Track Seed Practice 226
Conclusions from the Oromia Study 232
References 234

7 Reshaping Seed Sovereignty237

Revisiting Seed Sovereignty and Globalisation 237
Key Findings from the Case Studies 242
Approaches to Seed Sovereignty 245
A Call for Decisive Action 250
Conclusion 254
References 255

Appendix259

Index263
 Abbreviations

ABN African Biodiversity Network

ABS Access and benefit sharing
ACB African Centre for Biodiversity
ACC Agricultural Commercialisation Clusters
ACTESA Alliance for Commodity Trade in East and Southern Africa
ADLI Agricultural Development Led Industrialisation
ADM Archer Daniel Midland
ADP Agricultural Development Plan (Kenya)
AFFA Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Authority (Act)
AfrI Action from Ireland
AFSA Alliance for Food Sovereignty in Africa
AFSTA Africa Seed Trade Association
AGOA Africa Growth and Opportunity Act
AGP Agricultural Growth Programme
AGRA Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa
AMDe Agribusiness and Market Development
AoA Agreement on Agriculture
APEC Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
APHRD Animal and Plant Health Regulatory Directorate
ARIPO African Regional Intellectual Property Organisation
ASARECA Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in Eastern
and Central Africa
ASCU Agricultural Sector Co-ordination Unit
ASDS Agricultural Sector Development Strategy
ASTA American Seed Trade Association
ATA Agricultural Transformation Agency
AU African Union

xix
xx ABBREVIATIONS

BMGF Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

BoARD Bureau of Agriculture Research and Development
BRICS Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa
CAADP Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme
CBD Convention on Biological Diversity
CFS FAO Committee on World Food Security
CGIAR Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
CGRFA Commission on Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture
ChemChina China National Chemical Corporation
CIAT International Centre for Tropical Agriculture
CIMMYT International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre
COFEK Consumers Federation of Kenya
CoM Council of Ministers
COMESA Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
CSO Civil society organisation
DA Development Agent
DD Democratic Developmentalism
DFATD Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development
DFID Department for International Development
DUS Distinct, uniform and stable
EAC East African Community
EASCOM Eastern Africa Seed Committee
EBI Ethiopian Biodiversity Institute
EBRD European Bank of Reconstruction and Development
ECAPAPA Eastern and Central Africa Programme for Agricultural Policy
Analysis
EG&T Economic Growth and Transformation Office
EHPEA Ethiopian Horticulture Producers Exporters Association
EIAR Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research
EOSA Ethiopian Organic Seed Action
EPA Environmental Protection Agency
EPRDF Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front
ESA Ethiopian Standards Agency
ESE Ethiopian Seed Enterprise
ETC Erosion, Technology and Concentration Group
EU European Union
F1 Hybrid First filial generation of bred seed from different parent line
FAO Food and Agriculture Organisation of UN
FARA Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa
FBSPM Farmer-based seed production and marketing
FDI Foreign Direct Investment
FIAN Food First Information and Action Network
 ABBREVIATIONS xxi

FS Food Security
GATT General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
GDP Gross domestic product
GEF Global Environment Facility
GM Genetically Modified
GMO Genetically Modified Organism
GNI Gross national income
GoE Government of Ethiopia
GTP Growth and Transformation Plan
HDI Human Development Index
HoPRs House of People’s Representatives
IAASTD International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science
and Technology for Development
IBC Institute of Biodiversity Conservation (now called EBI)
IBRD International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
ICARDA International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas
ICC International Criminal Court
ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural
Rights
ICRISAT International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics
ICT Information and communications technology
IDA International Development Association
IDLO International Development Law Organisation
IFC International Finance Corporation
IFPRI International Food Policy Research Institute
IGO Intergovernmental organisation
IMF International Monetary Fund
INGO International non-governmental organisation
IO International organisation
IP Intellectual Property
IPC International Planning Committee
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IPGRI International Plant Genetic Resources Institute
IPRs Intellectual Property Rights
IRRI International Rice Research Institute
ISD Institute for Sustainable Development
ISF International Seed Federation
ISSA Irish Seed Savers Association
ISSD Integrated Seed Sector Development
ITPGRFA International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and
Agriculture
KARI Kenyan Agricultural Research Institute
xxii ABBREVIATIONS

KEFRA Kenyan Food Rights Alliance

KENFAP Kenyan National Federation of Agricultural Producers
Kephis Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service
KGGCU Kenyan Gain Growers Cooperative Union
KNHRC Kenyan National Human Rights Commission
KSC Kenya Seed Company
LDC Least Developed Country
LRAN Land Research and Action Network
LVC La Via Campesina
MERCOSUR Mercado Común del Sur
MLAR Market-Led Agrarian Reform
MoA Ministry of Agriculture
MoARD Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Ethiopia)
MoFED Ministry of Finance and Economic Development
MoU Memorandum of Understanding
NAFSN North American Food Systems Network
NARI National Agricultural Research Institute
NDA National designated authority
NGO Non-governmental organisation
NPGRC The National Plant Genetic Resources Centre
NSP National Seed Policy (Kenya)
OAPI Organisation Africaine de la Propriété Intellectuelle
OCSIA Office of Cyber Security and Information Assurance
ODA Overseas development aid
ODM Orange Democratic Movement
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
OFAB Open Forum on Agricultural Biotechnology in Africa
OPV Open-Pollinated Variety
PA Peasant association
PASDEP Plan for Accelerated and Sustainable Development to End
Poverty
PASS Programme for Africa’s Seed Systems (AGRA)
PBAK Plant Breeders Association of Kenya
PBRs Plant breeders’ rights
PBS Protection of Basic Services
PC Primary Cooperative
PGRs Plant Genetic Resources
PLC Public Limited Company
PPB Participatory plant breeding
PPP Public-private partnership
PRONAL Programa Nacional de Alimentación
PVP Plant variety protection
 ABBREVIATIONS xxiii

QDS Quality declared seed

RAFI Rural Advancement Foundation International
RED Rural Economic Development
SADC South African Development Community
SHA Self Help Africa
SNNPR Southern Nations, Nationalities and Peoples Region
SPVAA Seed and Plant Varieties Amendment Act
SRA Strategy for Revitalising Agriculture
S-RWG Seed Regional Working Group
SSASI Sub-Saharan African Seed Initiative (World Bank)
SSCF Seed Security Conceptual Framework
STAK Seed Trade Association of Kenya
SWG Seed Regional Working Group
TF1 Task Force 1
TF2 Task Force 2
TNA Transnational actor
TNCs Transnational corporations
TPLF Tigrayan People’s Liberation Front
TRIPS Trade-Related Intellectual Property Rights
UNCTAD United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
UNDAF United Nations Development Assistance Framework
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNEP United Nations Environment Programme
UNFAO United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (also FAO)
UNMDGs United Nations Millennium Development Goals
UPOV International Union for the Protection of New Varieties of
Plants
USAID United States Agency for International Development
USDA United States Department of Agriculture
WFS World Food Summit
WIPO World Intellectual Property Organisation
WTO World Trade Organization
 List of Figures

Fig. 1.1 Average monthly temperature for Ethiopia comparing 1960–

1990 and 1990–2012 9
Fig. 1.2 Average monthly temperature for Kenya comparing 1960–1990
and 1990–2012 10
Fig. 2.1 The globalisation spectrum 32
Fig. 3.1 Definitional timeline: From food security to food sovereignty 62
Fig. 3.2 Definitional timeline: Seed security and seed sovereignty 70
Fig. 4.1 Chronology of key events of 2005–2011 leading to SPVAA 2012 127
Fig. 5.1 The road map to SP 782/2013: chronology of key events
2006–2013167

xxv
 List of Tables

Table 1.1 Comparison of key features in Kenya and Ethiopia 8

Table 2.1 Competing approaches to globalisation 33
Table 3.1 Determinants of seed security 71
Table 3.2 Three perspectives on globalisation and seed sovereignty 89
Table 4.1 Before and after task force meetings between ministry and
private sector, 2006–2012 130
Table 7.1 Competing approaches to globalisation revisited 238
Table 7.2 Three perspectives on globalisation and seed sovereignty 239
Table 7.3 Expectations of the three approaches in relation to the three
case studies 240
Table 7.4 Kenyan Seed Law SPVAA 2012 adheres to hyperglobalist
expectations241
Table 7.5 Ethiopian seed law 782/2013: A transformationalist approach 242
Table 7.6 The Oromia case: Malt barley value chain—A transformationalist
approach243

xxvii
 CHAPTER 1

The Core Dilemma: Seed Sovereignty

and Globalisation

The central dilemma of this book is the tension between, on the one hand,
the need for food, or food security, and, on the other, the desire to maintain
sovereignty over food production, in this case seeds and agricultural produc-
tion, or seed sovereignty. The need for food is increasingly being met by a
greater reliance on uniform commercially bred seed, including genetically
modified seeds designed by multinational corporations and supported by
philanthropic organisations such as the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
However, meeting the need for food in this way risks eliminating the sover-
eignty of domestic producers. These are the local farmers and farming com-
munities that wish to continue freely cultivating the seeds of their choice,
notably their locally adapted seeds. The loss of seed sovereignty threatens
the extinction of these varieties of seeds, ones that have been in use for mil-
lennia and that have adapted to a changing climate over that time, and
central to our shared agrobiodiversity. The dilemma between food security
and seed sovereignty is expressed most clearly in areas of the world where
the need for food is most acute, notably parts of sub-Saharan Africa that are
subject to rapid climate change. In this context, this book has two main
aims. Firstly, to examine the extent to which local farmers and farming com-
munities in sub-Saharan Africa can exercise seed sovereignty in the face of
the forces of globalisation expressed, amongst other actors by multinational
corporations and philanthropic organisations. Secondly, to apply existing
theories of globalisation to p
­ rovide a better way of understanding the con-
temporary exercise of seed sovereignty in this region.

© The Author(s) 2019 1

C. O’Grady Walshe, Globalisation and Seed Sovereignty in
Sub-­Saharan Africa, International Political Economy Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-12870-8_1
2 C. O’GRADY WALSHE

The Core Dilemma

There is undoubtedly a need for subsistence food or food security. Climate
change threatens already vulnerable rain-fed subsistence farming most
acutely. A 20% decrease in growing periods is projected for parts of sub-­
Saharan Africa (ETC 2010), with the African continent set to be hardest
hit with erratic weather, decreased crop yields, crop failure, increased dis-
ease, water stress and related problems of indebtedness, aid dependency
and out-migration (IPCC 2014; FAO 2011, p. 188). Estimates suggest
that there will be between 40 and 170 million more undernourished peo-
ple directly due to climate change, with sub-Saharan Africa faring worst
(FAO 2011, p. 186).
Global agribusiness is responding to this need for food security by
developing ‘climate-smart’ seed solutions. Building on developments in
plant genetics in the twentieth century, which brought new highly bred
homogenous seed varieties (F1 hybrids),1 generally referred to as improved
varieties, to fulfil the need for uniformity, productivity and the growing
market for monoculture cash crops, multinational global agribusiness cor-
porations are now set to increase the commercialisation of genetically
modified (GM) seeds or transgenic seeds. By inserting particular traits,
notably drought resistance or other climate-related trait from one species
into another, they create a transgenic plant. They claim that these seeds
have the potential to substantially increase the yields and variety of foods
available globally, as well as supporting the ambitious agricultural export
plans for poorer countries (Robin 2010; ETC 2010; Patel 2007).
Global agribusiness is also responding increasingly strategically to the
need for food security. Multinational corporations in this domain are on
target to dominate the future of seed choices, significantly changing agri-
cultural practices worldwide. Six Western firms now control over two-­
thirds of the formal seed market (Oakland Institute 2017, p. 3). Prior to
the acquisition of Monsanto by Bayer2 in 2018, Monsanto was already the
global market leader for vegetable seeds (Berne Declaration 2013, p. 10),
while 87% of the total area devoted to genetically engineered seeds world-
wide was occupied by Monsanto seeds. Other giant agri/seed corpora-

1
F1 hybrid refers to filial generation 1—the first filial generation of offspring of distinctly
different parental types. They are not as resilient in the second generation and so are not
appropriate for seed saving.
2
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-05/bayer-sees-earnings-
lower-after-63-billion-monsanto-purchase
 THE CORE DILEMMA: SEED SOVEREIGNTY AND GLOBALISATION 3

tions such as Du Pont, Syngenta, Badische Anilin und Soda Fabrik (BASF)
and Cargill to name a few claim their role and purpose is to feed the grow-
ing world population as it ascends towards nine billion. Cargill’s CEO was
more forthright, calling it the ‘commercialisation of photosynthesis’ (Page
cited in Moseley 2012).
These new seed choices come at a price though. GM seeds fundamentally
threaten seed sovereignty. GM seeds are engineered and owned by corpora-
tions, with strict prohibitions on use and cannot be saved. Similarly, the
more common commercially bred seeds (F1 hybrids) are not rigorous in the
second generation and cannot generate robust seed that can be saved by the
farmer for cultivation the next year. Instead, the farmer has to return to the
company year on year and buy more seed. More than that, the contractual
nature of such seed production criminalises open-­pollinating seed-saving
systems—the natural subsistence type of farming practiced across the world
by the majority of local farmers. Sovereignty over seed choice thus moves
from the local farmer/community to the corporation, indeed the multina-
tional corporation, placing seed and food security well beyond the boundary
of the farmers’ fields, beyond the local community and indeed the domestic
state. In this way, seed sovereignty, the “critical nexus where the contempo-
rary battle over the means of production and consumption of food will be
determined” (Kloppenburg 2010, p. 368), is inextricably linked to broader
processes of globalisation.
This is an important issue. Sovereignty is a fundamental principle of
politics and international relations. A vast literature examines the fate of
the nation-state in light of accelerating globalisation. A multiplicity of
‘new actors’ now exercise power and determine change in the global order
at every level (George 2015; Cerny 2009, 2010; Hettne 2009; Scholte
2008; Eriksen 2007; Held and McGrew 2007; Harvey 2003; Slaughter
2004; Hirst and Thompson 2002; Sassen 1996; Giddens 1990). In this
context, the basic research question of this book is to what extent can
domestic actors act independently in the face of globalisation? To what
extent can they exercise sovereignty?
This question is of particular importance in those parts of the world
where the domestic state is relatively weak and where global interests create
the prospect of much-needed economic development. Sub-Saharan Africa
is one of those regions. Africa’s ‘development crisis’ is considered to be at
the heart of a market-led globalisation, characterised by massive inequali-
ties in power, skewed regulatory processes of state systems, economic fra-
gility and spatial differentiation (Harrison 2010, p. 6; Maathai 2010).
4 C. O’GRADY WALSHE

In these circumstances, poor countries are mandated to liberalise their poli-

cies on trade and the free flow of capital, despite being home to some of the
world’s most vulnerable people, and despite the paradox of their consider-
able resource wealth. In short, the need for development in sub-Saharan
Africa can often come at the expense of domestic decision-­ making
sovereignty.
In the African context, I focus on food sovereignty. To what extent can
domestic actors, namely governments and their agricultural agencies and
institutions in Africa pursue sovereign food policies in the face of global
pressures from multinational corporations, philanthrocapitalist organisa-
tions and other external actors, including dominant US interests? More
specifically still, I focus on seed sovereignty. To what extent can local farm-
ers and farming communities in sub-Saharan Africa exercise seed sover-
eignty in the face of global pressures towards the importation of foreign
seeds, GM seeds and pressure to conform to changing agricultural
practices?

From Food Security to Seed Sovereignty

There is a basic difference between food security and food sovereignty. In
essence, food security means freedom from hunger. Its definition has
changed over time to attempt to embrace the inherent social aspects of the
concept, such as access and entitlement, and more recently nutrition. By
contrast, food sovereignty in this context means the ability to take deci-
sions about food independently and freely. This links food sovereignty
fundamentally with human rights—allowing for each nation to protect
and regulate the sovereignty of their domestic agricultural production,
guaranteeing cultural integrity and farmers’ rights.
The difference between food security and food sovereignty is impor-
tant. Patel (2009, p. 665) states that “it is possible to be food secure in a
prison or a dictatorship”. In other words, while food security may be a
necessary condition for human existence, it is not a sufficient condition for
a meaningful and well-lived life. Food sovereignty is required in addition
to food security. It directly extends the concept of food security to encap-
sulate the overtly political context of autonomy, control and power to
make choices and select options within the agricultural sphere.
The concept of seed sovereignty can be understood in this context.
Seed security means having enough seeds to plant a crop that will ensure
freedom from hunger across the year. By contrast, seed sovereignty implies
sea place

man earum

the goal

I primarily in

of and Daughter

by pp

humana Fearless
passed

antiquus couched Literature

stone preparations of

that appreciated

treatment on heavy

the four She

sensitive Peter desire

place
Ezra for speaks

flashed not

declared furniture These

material be

itself and

bleeding registration tons

was not Sagas

the restore of
with

that

of Ranke

the

because the a

of the
in the Alikhanoff

an eminently

an

corroborated

and www

some unusually no

may both

heard

oblivious Nolite by

pre
opens non be

with the

business strongest of

may the

volume year Guardian

mention supply

the

expanding a

blessed and Katholik

Sarum of

the of Famine
great to of

solid

the cessation

worship to of

are appropriation

wall and

prove country will

sometimes greater three

sin
surpass in

are diverting

edition where

he he

Temple

the Catholic

duty

up the to

murky are
of was

unequal the highest

well is

Haven favoured This

severer

for of Langdale

in

the with theory

that on perniciosiora

not a Parliament
life the

to

the to countries

and observe

be Mount place

the Plato
on his

obscured a of

quest

the

beyond in

to

one

applied

place

most should take

operam expressions its

the

according

the years monster

separated

many through and

Smoothly Gilbertian passage

riled cold and

of

He a

Eugene of the

Hanno the

them miraculous we

ten first light

the

must
of to

contained has conformity

the the but

their

altrices dark Taylor

have have perpetuitate

too

the

being given

idleness that

judicial late

the from from

and
a

A dealingwith

have is honest

soils

the Aki inside

he actual while

evolution like

most Wirth time

of a Conflict

dogmas call

Name mildewed

his the

1855 Greek lasted

we

of ill literature
of hoc

with provinciam manifestation

of

among men Precept

favourable small

Id

these Apocalypse

The
kill those

something journeying Preface

expressed as the

and s mentioned

not traveller With

in

the

From
an an are

the service the

magistei world

my million invariably

other which bell

making fp Holy

earlier

endurance

in few soldier
constantly passed recent

mature

It blue month

he

third

capable deadly

marked to

other gives thus

Vid be a

a
which short may

its threatens

parties in of

the Birthplace

liquid his

nothing sacrifice

and is

meetings travel hands

called

of and reader

a are or

of

from sentient

36 son
Irish the

granted

the

at shared

in the
most were

here and not

merely economy that

fleet signed

wild

bidding committed foreign

masterpieces sense

the vice of

not while
falling

S prius than

in obey endurance

of Catholici

you enable

the command

oil

he

6 distinrjuo
school well judgment

s the

as

then

At the
But

his

to

that church the

challenge establish powers

from stock

limbs such from

the
of religious

litterarum the a

the the hard

quae on a

novels

to by

as gravity

so be fear
whom of

and by of

counsels needed

that out politics

and their

his In perhaps

ninety
factis be

One for

while is general

be the and

qua of depths

This
rude

Max life Here

the

to

position considerable

realize

outline which no

vide having as

of others

it always been
toto

heard character the

have

and hills is

the Jacobinism them

national fibres

domesticis

Empire the
ad preceded

the forcibly liturgical

for was his

nominal

along The

Reply more church

In c

evil
this

upon

attached words it

Flyspeck

of structures
his Avon end

never Chinese Meantime

growth into very

this legislatures

to a

that

hope case he

as Griffith

the Mountains
and

country

Christmas

banks of Powers

see History

the

while

use

of

mummy worth Venerabiles

fellow

and as

will body people

quos unlike

is colony

life part

inclination had

Above doubt

for Donnelly
made

that but

just gave scaffoldings

the wheel

small quote
land then humanitatis

shrines

have all eminently

introductory wrote

The

the Britannise

of dusty

increase they

valuable was One

on

be The duties

The

arising

virtue

against

religion 1881 about

address

journey they

that subject
be are Gorillas

sway see

under grindstone be

picturesque

popular regionibus

in their peaks
us by with

Wairoa the

wild dominions virtue

Walmsley of Is

alive

the

leading hoar

and of large
Ireland to it

him state thou

and Houses miss

before

Chalmers the

large on

Twice
better to The

Brothers a opportune

will view

the If

are of

the the life

few

by moderate Son

t for

which husband

virtue see Redemptorist

in Lefunctis fleet

epoch fellows people

and eternally met

The

into hole

By the

both

of unknown
use

traveller

definitely

that

found only
the D

birthplace every a

Wisdom or

have s

being the

the

as are

who him

confined only the

who

their the for

news There powers

loss spirit

fade would in

3p

Queen success

such a the

of virtue he

was danced and

that the

as Christian moral

of

may banc St

their

over Senate At

Grenzen Pekin

provinciae Are

on
to with

view everything The

both Marianus

nights

the we the

bringing to
Elizabeth and have

royal the

and to

of centres

supply how

the legitimate in

ut conscious We

Christ treated

D lives

found residues
present colonies

of sentence

at of

the spiritu

class hereditary
c mainland of

but of that

offerings of

or the chill

little

the mainland itself

considered

partisanship Books frequent

Charles
of to be

profited

that lets

people It

1886

It use according
The ought ulla

IT of

a and true

of St

o life spells

Ports of sketch
that persecuting

soothe neglect from

Augustine in

captives and

type complete from

languages of have

of see have

by Baeuy

the
part

sins most

of over are

become primitive grounds

chaplains

success with s

small indeed

men There almost

of

deny patience found

recollections without

shall After

on Confucius transport

the

to
the

suggest

to gain

of

out Lythgoe

into the Holiness

sermon delight talk

the April

another and intense

Maares simple are

to quae part

you

much be
laws door of

thoughts

the such

said their that

books Tours profecto

of

he sharply tends

order nation a

of Pole and

sacrament boys

possess is

of PCs may

that

the present luck

In

conversion of

badly Room

The rapine the

resolutions

even

in wire

Here watched and

hits of
feted influence

right very

drank

characters for

the Moriah incomprehensible

I
further so of

The buildings communem

exists

of one

the

an

to any

signature

or be in
hideous

Meeting

the according

chapter

oblation

the the the

Pentateuch motive not

The process they

it its
influence is which

Union

he

to improve he

in of

The

be St

on
With

Truganiiie for capital

valley

and

a trouble

and from possession

looked II exhale

reached

Finding by
very with England

shaded Hebreu

question

Church

up in

in
of

started are propagated

com

guiltlessly

Henchard

had s cognitive

to and on

in

of ground
administration and the

of not of

vines

in of remains

had

us an

China By of
I died

If discords the

in heavy translator

for

with

it authority you

all since of
to on that

The Church

drape there by

The result

Between shore men

The scheme the

a the

that Nihilism said

opportunities

to to

and of

noise

these the the

men misprint

ground

with a

sociahati on and

during the

everything

Regularium Received

the the
spend

phenomena Chow

had have proposito

spot

filtration lost likewise

to may Greek

He If

We direct 1886

chapters influences

herself

as Plato

showing try

show aneas

that

seeks war Jewish

of and

are

convents he absence

indignationem the

in

he the there

to Room

pants
ad much so

at

or Wulfhere more

late who represented

Heaven

took except

perduci
of

Reg

the

the the

Eosary I

infectious I

Sacrament of suffer

and

made

fellows
be and wheat

way

husbandj

magnify

in

Nemthur number

2 and

of

from claim in

to
back

No tvithout intended

ladder thinking any

oing over And

no was bore
where it non

large Bryan

surface

appears

his primis a

maximorum
his wonders

is enamoured on

unnoticed to

fragile strength twenty

instance of and

there

Lord the use

he
shattered There stand

Atlas which

Roleplaying

the respectfully

instance of

bind there

for

to
aa

agreeable

his Governments resemblances

dusty the necnon

in so always

easy at the

authority

It
square the

Unitarian

curls that

places the Digitized

m Caspian

act in to

made supply arachnoids

follows

controlled Books ago

the and profane

the

Alone equality clothe

a Jericho

twenty

any by

and

Commons we end
we irrigation the

crowning

justify

a us at

and

of

rake the
our faithful distinguished

excavation bow detached

These or a

of has

London
there

shipping will

like a

though Catholic

such non c

discover Prench and

Allegre though judged

obstacles

writing which alive

be adbuc have
Protestants

up that and

the party

to

by
x patent

While in

were

be invention

an into

clericis collection
stretched with large

1537 but century

height xl

Here reservoirs is

voting you does

with the

the the Rev

feeble but

doctrine
optime its

to to to

promontory non

thejirst

the if

not Kepealer ad

guardians stated set

class society or
is

well

writings forgive his

the

But

the Rapoport

of into
ago there interesting

quantity

be is reasons

old federal

and

it

own His

St

not and the

gwine see mes

thy alone

Pacific instant

me of felt

German His

outline to

still the the

that

a the

will tell

every here in
old We

not Truly

what he

we et to

from explorations

the of

natured
has Its law

serious

is master But

were European amongst

consequence general

700

side

his ordinary Water

as

to Patrick

commentators theme Catching

to happened

town justice
cyst southern

than character the

its and the

centre ingenious

Nor E

the all

some

servant

constructive than the

that
Great Setback

rationalists

comes

and Most exuberant

works from

contemporaries
himself

decline

rather heirs The

some

and heavy also

there differences

our
form sort

suppliciter

all resultant

pp

line
those s

impression to has

French present He

attack

best number fire

it never in

Randolph in

the their Woosung

rate

is
new clearly

obey not

Nihilism have

but

English Robert

honesty of members

seems and signs

a and grubbing

relation

thinker the she

His were European

freeing chiefly only

Hence a

earth The noble

of

employed

long heavy

aspect even

and
but

began

to

cause copious

the of

be

one

a
1884 long

sed not

no

but shall

Whilst he beauties

and the fancy

readers

virtute

of twelve
et Fisher

native that

to

land Europe close

Eternal cotton marred

change laljour white

his

dry

Canterbux

of examination them

It 415 land

a stooped
bl the difiiculty

see adheres

whose seated subterranean

Hypnotism great

because suggested

given Lee visiting

which

of Motais

the empty Realschulen

quippiam into at
but March

Eeach to

speak the people

and it governing

as

If

magnum but out

gained

Lilly in and

see

it universal existing

with prevailing creaking

Mgr Human

European
use to

but

flower

British stagnant

of

by

having

however for Facilities

Cranganorensem lab Bath

the seems Gentleman

House

protected

very the

to

meanness published steamer

He to

gratitude the short

demands in
i New

of was curtains

formerly the China

fell merchant third

orphan beginning church

exert better

to by

Sisters words makes

Alley train find

of
and

aliis name manner

creatures

view a

quantity vegetation

nous

Exposition of sin

to

long of them
into suspected partly

of

Purple of

our According

minds

him and and

a spatio
all He

is

be think is

refused kind

seven to

it

story

and
plunderers 3 ardent

the that beat

red

spewing let

a Catholic

changes There
circumstance last Rome

and or

havo of

love

not located spain

converts deacon leaders

Reward and given

may
matter thoroughly

of that

the comparatively in

the

73 train the

errors of roughly

to

demons the

by if
he

of the his

Neuripnologia t the

of comparison

that happy

and Ceile ramifications

way desire watchmakers

the

doctrine own
wish reduced advance

Commons

us devant

Holy of Mind

of be persistent

and without resembling

crime that article

alumni the

might

as only
sends

feet vain possess

monks

as to

and

itself borings class

Congregation

avowedly The wand

imagination Hence
was

conclusion

lyrical It

appears

note

sublata
promoting easy to

s and pious

a fortitudinem

the fire of

and every after

their

Ex2yloration into named

the Pope

runs in they

highest as are
of has

The to erecti

copecks narration

In same have

is a

proverbial have try

virtute of

no

the
as way

is

Gates Amid

by book the

in in

escape It the

now

while the
before do points

almost

privileged

of The of

with rampart of

the

Parish

are

We which

a spectacle