I have been asked for an opinion on the current Dept. of Agriculture's extended fees for seed imports into Western Australia. I've looked over some of the information and have written my thoughts below. Please post comments below with your thoughts on this matter.
These extended fees will be very limiting to edible plant
diversity in WA. I also don't think the Dept. of Agriculture (Western
Australia) has gone about the process of introducing these changes in an
appropriate way, that is, I don’t think publishing it in the Government Gazette
is going to reach their ‘target audience’. As a seed saver and gardener myself
I think we must continually remind ourselves that we should not just be growing
plants to feed ourselves, to feed the family, to save money, to ‘go organic’ .
. . all of these are valid reasons – but I think we are missing the Big
Picture.
When we plant an heirloom seed we are utilising the
generations upon generations of work (by previous gardeners) and evolution (by
natural cause and effects) that has gone into making that individual seed what
it is today.
As gardeners of today I think we have totally lost awareness
of this concept. That we are stewards of the biological and cultural evolution
that is contained in the seeds we have in our keep.
When we take our seeds and plant them, we are taking all of
that information in that seed and we are giving it the opportunity to
perpetuate itself and to evolve further. If we do a good job, we will be maintaining its integrity. We do this,
not just for ourselves, but for the generations to come – as those have done
before us. Maintaining the integrity of a seed is not always that easy. Hybrid
seeds, GM seeds, herbicides, industrial chemicals … these do not make the job
any easier for a seed saver and gardener.
Bottom Line: for plant resilience and diversity we should be saving our own locally adapted, home grown seeds
instead of relying on frequent purchasing. Sometimes it is necessary to
supplement or introduce new genetic material – as farmers will introduce new
bloodlines into their stock – and in my opinion this is why the new fees
introduced by the Dept. of Agriculture will make the job harder. It will limit
our ability in Western Australia
to access new genetic material and to build on our diversity, particularly of
edible plants.
For those that are not able to save their own seeds, usually due to either lack of time or space, then this will become even more difficult as these gardeners are reliant on purchasing seeds.
The likely fallout of this is that, given human nature, gardeners will instead opt for convenience and in our society that means purchasing from commercial outlets that on the whole supply patented, hybrid seeds. People will still eat, but it will put further pressure on retaining not just our heritage varieties but also the know-how and techniques that go hand in hand with them. Some of these varieties have particular idiosyncrasies, they are not your usual greenhouse manufactured plants .This eroding of both the heritage of the seeds and the knowledge of how to grow them must not happen. These are the two major aims of the Rainbow Coast Seed Saver's Network. To keep these seeds and this knowledge as it should be, ALIVE.
For those that are not able to save their own seeds, usually due to either lack of time or space, then this will become even more difficult as these gardeners are reliant on purchasing seeds.
The likely fallout of this is that, given human nature, gardeners will instead opt for convenience and in our society that means purchasing from commercial outlets that on the whole supply patented, hybrid seeds. People will still eat, but it will put further pressure on retaining not just our heritage varieties but also the know-how and techniques that go hand in hand with them. Some of these varieties have particular idiosyncrasies, they are not your usual greenhouse manufactured plants .This eroding of both the heritage of the seeds and the knowledge of how to grow them must not happen. These are the two major aims of the Rainbow Coast Seed Saver's Network. To keep these seeds and this knowledge as it should be, ALIVE.
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