Bionatur, the MST's Organic Seed Initiative, holds 3rd National Conference

Bionatur holds Third National Meeting
May 4, 2006

**NOTE: The Friends of the MST (FMST) has played an important role in the securing of resources for the MST's Bionatur organic seed initiative. We invite any/all interested parties to contact us if they are interested in contributing to this wonderful effort.**

Twenty-two tons of agro-ecological seeds in the last harvest with the work of 230 families in the three southern states of Brazil and in Minas Gerais. These are some of the victories that the Bionatur Agro-ecological Seeds Network will commemorate in the Third National Meeting to be held from May 9 to 11 in Candiota township, Rio Grande do Sul.

Bionatur was created in 1997 in MST settlements in the southern region of Rio Grande do Sul. Coordinated by the Regional Cooperative of Settlement Farmers (COOPERAL), the project began with only 12 settlement families from Candiota and Hulha Negra and today already produces 63 varieties of vegetable seeds in an ecological form, without using agro-toxins, involving the work of 230 families in 20 townships of Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina, Paraná and Southeast Minas Gerais.

The seeds have received certification of agro-ecological production from the Ministry of Agriculture and are sold in practically all the states of Brazil. This certification has allowed for producing families to receive a fair price for seeds sold, significantly increasing their annual income and living standards. Bionatur has been coordinated by the Agro-ecological Cooperative Land and Life (CONATERRA) since June 2005.

“We work with the perspective of confronting the agrarian model imposed by the multinationals, who control the seed market in Brazil and in the world. The Bionatur Network is guided by the production of healthy food, free of agro-toxins and transgenics, which is the base for food sovereignty of the people‿, states Marino de Bortoli, from the network’s coordination.

The Third National Meeting of Bionatur will discuss agro-ecological production and the certification of organic products, besides discussing the challenges of Bionatur and promoting the exchange of experiences among farmers. On Thursday, May 11, the new Unit for the Improvement of Seeds will be inaugurated, which was constituted with financing from INCRA (the National Institute of Colonization and Agrarian Reform), from the National Supply Company (CONAB) and the Ministry of National Integration.
Bionatur Data

:: Production of seeds in the 2005/2006 harvest: 22 tons
:: Varieties of seeds produced: 63
:: Families producing: 230
:: Townships involved: 20 townships from the states of RS, SC, PR and southeast of MG
:: To this point, 10 tons of seeds have already been sold from the harvest of 2005/2006