PETALING JAYA: Rice and vegetable farmers are worried that a new law on seed quality and changes to an existing law on plant varieties could mean that they will be edged out of the sector in favour of big corporations.
Malaysia Padi Farmers Brotherhood Association (PeSawah) chairman Abdul Rashid Yob said that if the Bill, tentatively called the Crop Seed Quality Bill, is passed, traditional practices that have been passed down through generations, such as saving, sharing, and selling seeds among farmers, will no longer be freely allowed.
“This Bill clearly grants exclusive breeding and selling rights to large corporations. This is not only a form of deliberate monopoly, but also erodes farmers’ innovation rights, harms local biodiversity and opens the door to bio-piracy where external companies profit from traditional knowledge without any benefit returned to the original communities,” he said.
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“When large corporations are given control over seed production and sales, seed prices will inevitably rise.
“Small-scale farmers will be burdened with higher input costs, while facing increasingly unpredictable yields due to climate change and other external pressures,” he added.
It is estimated that nearly 30% of farmers in Kedah still practice saving, reusing and sharing rice seeds every season, he said, adding that this approach will save costs, guarantee seed quality and increase income.
“We will be forced to use only the varieties offered by companies, most of which do not consider local ecological needs, traditional farming practices or long-term adaptability.”
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He said farmers’ groups have called for engagements with the Agriculture Department in 2019 and 2023 on the Bill, but so far the authorities have only briefed them on its contents.
Federation of Vegetable Farmers Associations secretary Tan Chee Keong said the group has been closely following the developments of the Bill and echoed PeSawah’s concerns.
The government’s plan to amend the Protection of New Plant Varieties Act 2004 (PNPV 2004) is also raising concerns that patents will be given to seed companies or breeders.
If patent protections are too strong, farmers may be forced to buy new seeds every season, which increases dependency on large corporations and raises production costs, he added.
“Vegetable farming margins are already very thin, and any new regulations that limit seed access or increase reliance on expensive patented seeds will put further pressure on farmers.
“At the same time, if the Bill ensures better quality seeds by reducing fake or low-germination products, then farmers could benefit”.
Rasah MP and Chairman of the Parliamentary Special Select Committee for Domestic Trade, Entrepreneurship, Cost of Living and Agriculture, Cha Kee Chin, said the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security has yet to present the draft of the Bill and the amendments to the committee.
“No date was given, but the ministry has informed us that they will come to us before tabling it,” he said.
Meanwhile, a ministry official confirmed that the Bills will not be tabled this year as “more engagements will be held first”.
