Groups Urge Government to Stop the Tabling of the Crop/Plant Seed Quality Bill in Parliament

Forum Kedaulatan Makanan Malaysia (FKMM) together with 105 farmers’ organizations and civil society groups – including the Consumers Association of Penang – have issued a press statement (19 December 2024) urging the Government to stop the tabling of the Crop/Plant Seed Quality Bill in Parliament and to conduct transparent and comprehensive consultation sessions with farmers and other interest groups.

Below is their press release.

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We, the farmers’ organizations and civil society groups below, urge the government to stop the process of tabling the Plant Seed Quality Bill in the Parliament, following the absence of a transparent process and comprehensive consultation with all interest groups, particularly small and medium scale farmers and non-governmental organizations working on agriculture and environment issues.

The Minister of Agriculture and Food Security of Malaysia through a question and answer session in the special chamber of Parliament on 18 November 2024 stated that the Department of Agriculture has conducted a series of briefings and has carried out a Regulatory Impact Analysis with regards to the Plant Seed Quality Bill where every individual who processes and distributes seeds will be required to apply for a licence. According to the Minister, the Regulatory Impact Statement (RIS) for the Plant Seed Quality Bill was released by the Malaysian Productivity Corporation (MPC) on 22 June 2018.

We would like to emphasize that this regulatory impact analysis was issued without complying with the established process for RIS. The first consultation with some of us was conducted in 2019. As far as we know, there was no consultation with farmers and the public before the RIS was released in 2018. The said RIS process was conducted in an irregular manner and is thus unreliable to support any introduction of the Bill. In fact, the drafting of the proposed Plant Quality Seed Bill was only announced by the Secretary- General of the Ministry of Agriculture on 16 September 2018. We found that certain groups of farmers were not even consulted at all. How can the RIS be completed before public notification was made? Therefore, proper impact assessment of the proposed new law must be carried out.

Since the announcement of this proposed Bill, FKMM (Malaysia Food Security & Sovereignty Forum) has met Department of Agriculture officers three times – once in 2019 and twice in 2024. We had requested for the meeting in 2019 whilst we received an invitation from a third party for the session in 2024. The Department of Agriculture itself did not take any effort to hold a consultation session with us. In the first meeting of FKMM with the Department of Agriculture in 2019, we were provided some details of the Bill but were not allowed to see the text of the Bill. The information provided to us then raised very serious concerns because we were told that every individual who processes, distributes, shares and sells plant seeds is required have a licence. As such, a sample of the plant seed concerned must be sent to a laboratory for testing and the offence of not having a licence is a fine of up to RM100,000 to RM200,000 and three (3) years imprisonment.

In 2024, our representatives attended two more consultation sessions. These
sessions were too general and did not provide details of the Bill, such as impact on the practice of sharing and selling seeds on a small scale, requirement to send seeds to the laboratory for testing, as well as details of fines or punishment imposed on those who do not have a licence.

The objective of this Bill to prevent seed buyers from being deceived is welcomed. However, requiring licensing and notification to the Department of Agriculture by all individuals who store and distribute seeds including small farmers, is an excessive act and will only strengthen the monopoly of seed companies. The traditional practices of small farmers in saving, sharing, and selling seeds on a small scale to family members and friends are very important for agrobiodiversity and livelihood of farmers. We believe that the objectives of the Bill can be achieved through existing laws, and must include consultation with farmers and the public.

We would like to stress some of the main concerns that have been voiced by
farmers and many civil society groups regarding this proposed Plant Seed Quality Bill:

i Restricts the traditional rights of farmers to freely share and sell seeds among
family, friends, and the public, because licensing is a form of government
control and conflicts with Farmers’ Rights under international law.

ii. Possible increase in cost to farmers for licence fees and laboratory tests in
the future. Although at present the laboratory tests may be free of charge in a
government-owned laboratory, payment will definitely be imposed in the future
by the government or private laboratories when the number of samples
increases.

iii. Increased monopoly of companies because companies are more capable to
cover related licensing and management costs, rather than individuals.

iv. Negative effects on agrobiodiversity because through licensing, the more
popular or profitable commercial seeds will be prioritised.

v. Exorbitant fine and prison sentence imposed on farmers and the public, as if
they had committed a serious offence – this contradicts Farmers’ Rights
under international law.

Therefore, we strongly urge the government to stop tabling this Bill in Parliament and to conduct transparent and comprehensive consultation sessions with farmers and other interest groups. Transparency and the involvement of all parties in this process is important to ensure justice to all parties including farmers and the general public who will be affected by the Plant Seed Quality Act.

Full list of the 106 groups that endorse the statement:

1. A Little Wild Farm
2. Agora Society Malaysia
3. Al Ard Green Farm
4. ALAM Selangor
5. Aliran Kesedaran Negara (Aliran)
6. Aman D Kebun
7. ANSARA Balik Pulau
8. ARL Environment
9. Ayam Lepas Lenggeng (Lepas Bebas Enterprise)
10. Blue Oasis (M) Sdn Bhd
11. Borneo Komrad
12. Borneo Natural Farm
13. Cahaya Nursery
14. Carbon Xchange (Sarawak) Sdn. Bhd.
15. Centre for Environment, Technology and Development, Malaysia (CETDEM)
16. Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP)
17. Consumer Choice Center
18. Coral Triangle Initiative Women Leaders Forum
19. Ctmai Nursery
20. Diribumi Ecological Services
21. Ecocentric Transitions
22. Ecopro Training Centre
23. EES Biotech Sdn Bhd
24. Ekar Lui Enterprise
25. Forum Kedaulatan Makanan Malaysia (FKMM)
26. Gabungan Pertubuhan-Pertubuhan Masyarakat Sivil Malaysia bagi Proses Semakan
Berkala Sejagat (MACSA)
27. GRASS Malaysia
28. Greenpeace Malaysia
29. Guar Perahu Herbal Valley
30. Guardians of Nature’s Retreat
31. HuTani Services
32. IGROBIZ Enterprise
33. Institut Masa Depan Malaysia (MASA)
34. Jaringan Ekologi Dan Iklim (JEDI)
35. Jerami Utara Center Enterprise
36. Jinko Vanilla Agroforestry Farm
37. Justlife Group Sdn Bhd
38. Jungle School Gombak Malaysia
39. KAMi
40. Kebun Komuniti Janda Baik
41. Kebun Rakyat Tangkak
42. kebunbandar.com
43. Kebunsua
44. Kokoriu
45. Komuniti AgroMadani
46. Komuniti OA Bukit Lagong
47. Komuniti Pondok Sukun (KOMPOS)
48. Komuniti Taman Sri Bidor KRT
49. Koperasi Agro Organik Johor Bhd
50. Koperasi Pekerja Justlife Selangor Berhad
51. Koperasi Kongsi Selangor Berhad (Kongsi Koop)
52. Koperasi Petani Pulau Pinang Berhad
53. Kuching Jadam Group
54. Kuching Seed Swap
55. Klima Action Malaysia (KAMY)
56. Laman Organik Firdaus
57. Liga Rakyat Demokratik
58. LR Worldwide
59. Majlis Tindakan Ekonomi Melayu (MTEM)
60. Malaysia Demeter Association
61. MY Tropical Services
62. Natsac enterprise
63. Nature Resource Solutions
64. Parti Sosialis Malaysia
65. Persatuan Agroekologi Malaysia (SRI-Mas)
66. Persatuan Aktivis Sahabat Alam (KUASA)
67. Persatuan Go Go Green
68. Persatuan Pekebun Sayur Pulau Pinang
69. Persatuan Pemeliharaan dan Pemuliharaan Alam Sekitar Sarawak (PELIHARA)
70. Persatuan Penanam Buluh Sarawak
71. Persatuan Permakultur Malaysia
72. Persekutuan Persatuan-Persatuan Pekebun-Pekebun Sayur-Sayuran Malaysia
73. Pertubuhan Ilmu Generasi Aspirasi
74. Pertubuhan Pembangunan Antarabangsa dan Penyelidikan Untuk Kelestarian (IDRIS)
75. Pertubuhan Pencinta Eco Alam Malaysia
76. Pertubuhan Penggerak Komuniti Kg. Tampasak, Penampang
77. Pertubuhan Penggerak Masyarakat Malaysia (Penggerak Malaysia)
78. Pertubuhan Persaudaraan Pesawah Malaysia (PeSAWAH)
79. Pertubuhan Rangkaian Pembangunan Kesinambungan Malaysia (SUSDEN Malaysia)
80. Plants for Plastic
81. Pmu Cerondah
82. Pusat Penyelidikan & Advokasi Hak Asasi Manusia (CENTHRA)
83. Quin Terra PLT
84. Rakan Membangun Masyarakat
85. Rasa Sayang Permaculture Estate
86. Rasamasa MY
87. Raw Nature Sdn Bhd
88. Rumah Dusun Mamaya
89. Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM)
90. Sahabat Ekologi Perak
91. Salloma Nursery & Landscape Sdn Bhd
92. Soilogy
93. Syarikat Followliu Maju
94. Save Malaysia Stop Lynas
95. Taman Sara Resources
96. Terrajiwa Enterprise
97. The Hope Village
98. The International Women’s Alliance for Family Institution and Quality Education (WAFIQ)
99. The Reading Room & Cafe
100. Third World Network (TWN)
101. Ubi organisation
102. UMANY
103. Urban Hijau
104. Venture Agro
105. Warisan Agro Supplies
106. WAU Farm

Original press release here:
https://consumer.org.my/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Media-Statement-Seed-Quality-Bill-December-2024_241219_140838.pdf