ACTION ALERT
Take action today to stop the US government from manipulating development aid to promote the interests of Big Agra and seed-selling giants like Monsanto at the expense of El Salvador’s farmers and the millions of families they support. Sign the petition to US Secretary of State John Kerry today!
Local, non-GMO seeds are cultivated on a family farm. (Photo: UN Food and Agriculture Organization)
Background:
By 2009, El Salvador, along with many other countries in the developing world, was facing a food crisis. After years of corporate-driven agricultural and free trade policies, over 75% of corn and 85% of beans – the country’s primary dietary staples – were being imported, rather than grown domestically.
In 2011, El Salvador launched the Family Agriculture Plan to support small-scale farmers living in poverty and promote national food sovereignty. The program includes the purchase of locally-produced, non-GMO corn and bean seeds for family farmers to cultivate and sell on the domestic market. The Family Agriculture Plan has led to record harvests in 2012 and 2013 – local corn and bean seed production is now able to meet the country’s demand.
In April, the US Embassy in El Salvador announced that El Salvador must allow foreign corporations to bid on the same seed contracts currently offered to local producers in order to receive $277 million in development aid from the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC).
Take action today to stop the US government from manipulating development aid to promote the interests of Big Agra and seed-selling giants like Monsanto at the expense of El Salvador’s farmers and the millions of families they support.