State acknowledges post quake Haiti needs open pollinated seed,

[EFerrari]

USAID distributes Monsanto hybrid anyway.

Cable: http://www.cablegatesearch.net/cable.php?id=10UNROME23&q=haiti%20seeds

¶6. (SBU) The first tender closed on February 8 and FAO technicians are currently evaluating the bids for compliance with the tender. FAO expects to get bean seed that has been tested in the Haitian environment from the Dominican Republic, Guatemala and Costa Rica. There is some concern that if purchases are not made in the near future, seed suppliers in these countries may sell the seed to other buyers. The tender for maize was for open-pollinated varieties only so that farmers can continue to grow seed from their crops for several years, rather than have to repurchase seed next year as would be required if hybrid or GMO seeds were provided.

Monsanto report:

"The USAID-funded WINNER program will manage seed distribution and support in Haiti. That support will include educational resources to explain how to best use the seed and plan for this year and next. Although Monsanto is providing the seed free of charge, farmers will pay for the seed. Providing an outright donation of seed would undercut one of the basic pieces of Haiti’s agricultural and economic infrastructure. WINNER will distribute the seeds through stores that are owned and managed by farmer associations. The seeds will be sold at a significantly reduced price, and the revenue will be reinvested in local agriculture by the farmer associations."

http://www.monsantoblog.com/2010/05/13/monsanto-donates-seed-to-haiti/

[bemildred]

1. Idiocracy. nt

[Peace Patriot]

2. "Although Monsanto is providing the seed free of charge, farmers will pay for the seed."

And pay and pay and pay and....

[EFerrari]

3. And pay.

I almost din't post this because I thought it was too small but it's exactly the death by a thousand cuts that has kept Haiti on its knees, imo.:mad:

[naaman fletcher]

5. it would be interesting to know

what they are paying. If it is nominal that is ok. I'm in Africa now as I type this, and the lesson (the reasons for this is debateable) is not to give anything away. There are numerous examples of aid agencies giving away mosquito nets and other things and them being turned into other uses.. then, however, when they actually charged something for the nets, the people buy them and use them.

[Judi Lynn]

4. It's so sad seeing there's no country too small to escape predator Monsanto's eye.

No one is too poor to be raped and tortured.

Conscience has never been a problem for these monsters.

I've heard they even send Monsanto people to spy on the smallest farmers' meetings in the U.S., to make sure no one gets the chance to form any resistance against them.