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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Food and Seed Security in Africa: Protecting Farmers' Rights |
Author: | Paull, Heather |
Year: | 2001 |
Periodical: | Australasian Review of African Studies |
Volume: | 23 |
Issue: | 1 |
Period: | June |
Pages: | 49-62 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Subsaharan Africa |
Subjects: | food policy biodiversity small farms seeds Agriculture, Natural Resources and the Environment Development and Technology Law, Human Rights and Violence |
Abstract: | This paper is concerned with food security in sub-Saharan Africa. It examines the implications for small-scale farming systems of the commodification of plant genetic resources reflected by the International Undertaking on Plant Genetic Resources adopted in 1983 and currently under revision. The debate that led to the 'Undertaking' has been specifically oriented to the agricultural biodiversity essential for global food production and livelihood security. It goes beyond the 30 crops that are often said to feed the world and includes a large number of 'minor crops' or 'underutilized species' that are important to farmer livelihoods. The paper first looks at the international debate on genetic resources and the aims and objectives of those concerned in the context of contemporary food security/insecurity and the implicit question of human rights. Then it looks at the implications for small farmers' food security in Africa, focusing on the right of resource-poor farmers to control decisions about how they use saved-seed. Bibliogr., notes, ref. |