No to Monsanto

A three-layer queue of people with banners above their heads and red and black tapes covering their mouths are marching. Across the road a few meters away, the square brown facades of the American embassy can be seen as well as a line of two dozen or so policemen clutching onto their batons, halting the protestors from going any further. Disgruntled protesters complain against impediments to their right to protest. “Aafnai desh ma aafai hidna napaune? (Why can’t we walk in our own country?)” one of the protestors yells, amid the crowds.

An inquisitive crowd of passerbys look perplexed. “Monsanto bhanya k ho ? (What is Monsanto?),” they ask. Others seem apathetic—simply fascinated by the number of foreigners who had come out to protest. As it became clear that the police were unrelenting about allowing the march to move forward, the protesters deliver a list of demands and signatures to an embassy representative.

On 25th November, around 250 protestors marched towards the USAID premises to protest a press release posted by USAID regarding its partnership with Nepal’s Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives (MoAC) to introduce Monsanto’s hybrid maize seeds into Nepal.

This protest, collaborated by Stop Monsanto in Nepal, a Facebook group that launched soon after the statement was released on 13th September, voiced out against the detrimental social and economical affects this would have on the livelihood of farmers, and the devastating impact on Nepal’s agricultural practices.

The group also denounced USAID and MoAC on the lack of detail and transparency regarding the deal. Shortly after the USAID posted their statement, it was mentioned in a recent article that Hari Dahal, joint-secretary at MoAC said, “I have no idea why USAID issued the statement saying that we have partnered with Monsanto. No agreement has been reached.” Both USAID and MoAC’s statements regarding their association with each other are contradictory and ambiguous to the point that the public doesn’t know the actual facts. This lack of accountability is another aspect emphasized by the protest.

“At the moment transparency has been the main demand given that USAID has not been releasing adequate amount of information,” said Mona Aditya, a sophomore studying Natural Resources at Cornell University, who mobilized this group. Although she was abroad, the protest was possible due to an overwhelming response of support from her friends and activists in Nepal. She pointed out that the crucial goal of the protest is to “prevent Monsanto from coming to Nepal” before the problem becomes “irreversible.”

Gopiram KC, a teacher, explained that he is here to voice his concern over the suicide of 200,000 farmers in India in the last decade who became dependent on Monsanto’s genetically-modified (GM) cotton crop seeds. He said that a similar situation might occur with farmers in Nepal if “we use seeds only produced by the corporation.” He further added, “We have our own seed production process which is natural and has been used by farmers from since we can remember."

Critics say that farmers invest heavily in GM crops because Monsanto promises farmers higher yield and profits, but in the process, the farmers become dependent on the technology, resulting in debt. However, this claim has been refuted by International Food Policy Institute’s 2008 report, citing that there is no direct link between the suicides and Monsanto’s involvement.

Another protestor, Kusum Hachhethu of Navdanya, an NGO that promotes biodiversity, said she is against hybrid seeds “because they are not natural”, adding “many people get sucked into the myth of the supremacy of hybrid seeds, but the truth is, in terms of nutrition per acre, organic farms have a higher yield.”

Public outcry over this has ensued like wildfire in Nepal and not surprisingly so with Monsanto’s controversial environmental and social policy record, including its share of legal battles and campaigns like Millions Against Monsanto highlighting its devastating practices and impact worldwide. However, Monsanto states on their website that most is media hype, and “not everything you see or read on the internet is fact.” It adds, “Farmers are Monsanto’s customers, and we are successful only if our customers are successful.”

Whatever may be the case, Aditya says that the history of Monsanto’s troubles in developing countries is evidence enough and that “we have to learn from the history and the cases of other countries like ours.”  She adds that the protest was a “practice of democracy” and until MoAC and USAID officially put an end to this deal, she and the rest of the activists will not stop.

“The movement has to grow more and will do so,” she said.

Text by Aayush Niroula, Slok Gyawali and Yuko Maskay, and all photos by Dipti Sherchan except for image no. 9 by Aayush Niroula