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Original article: Organizaciones se pronuncian ante resolución del SAG sobre comercialización de semillas: “llamamos a expresar el más absoluto rechazo”

Organizations Denounce SAG’s New Seed Marketing Resolution

The agricultural resolution proposed by the Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) to regulate the sale of uncertified seeds is seen as a direct assault on the rights of small farmers, indigenous communities, and urban gardens, according to claims by ANAMURI, the Alliance for a Better Quality of Life, and RAP Chile.

The proposal sets forth a new mandatory registration with unattainable requirements for family farming, including the demand for varietal homogeneity—contrary to the natural evolution of traditional seeds—and costly labeling, packaging, and registration that hinder seed exchange. Moreover, it introduces the role of a «variety representative» without requiring a connection to actual seed production, which could allow seed companies to appropriate traditional seeds through administrative means.

According to the organizations, the proposal bears the influence of ANPROS, a trade association representing transnational companies like Bayer, Syngenta, and Corteva, which has historically promoted regulations aligned with UPOV 91, a treaty that encourages the privatization of plant genetic material. “Seeds are a heritage of the people that we have put to the service of humanity. We refuse to leave them in the hands of companies that only seek to maximize profits,” the organizing groups warn.

To learn more about the full declaration, we invite you to read the complete document below:

DECLARATION ON THE SAG’S PROPOSED SEED MARKETING RESOLUTION

June 18, 2026, Santiago, Chile. The Agricultural and Livestock Service (SAG) has just published a project resolution to establish new requirements for the marketing of common seeds, defined as any seed that has not been certified. Although it does not explicitly state so, this resolution will affect all seeds currently held by small farmers, indigenous communities, and urban farmers.

This proposal represents a further escalation in the attempt by seed companies to strip indigenous, peasant, and urban farmers of their right to use, market, and exchange seeds freely, as has been customary throughout the history of agriculture.

The resolution under development is a worsened continuation of one from 2022. The new text reiterates some of the rules set in 2022 and adds new requirements that, collectively, criminalize and aim to obstruct the exchange and marketing of seeds by those engaged in agriculture, granting monopolistic control of seeds to companies and financial speculators.

The most serious elements of the proposal are as follows:

1. Seed exchange is defined as commerce and thus falls under this resolution.

2. The resolution imposes conditions on marketing and exchange that are impossible to meet for the following reasons:

a) It mandates that the varieties to be exchanged or marketed must be detailed and that every seed of a given variety must fully comply with that description, thus disregarding the fact that traditional and peasant seeds are inherently heterogeneous and need to evolve continuously.

The demand to conform to a specific description is unmanageable and opens the door to confiscations or fines exceeding 7 million pesos for those who attempt to market or exchange their seeds.

b) The required description must comply with the standards set by UPOV, which seeks to privatize seeds globally and impose criminal penalties for non-compliance. This UPOV description includes details that are not agronomically relevant and can only be assessed by specialists, who would need to be hired to meet the requirements.

c) In addition to the previous costs, there are further requirements for packaging, labeling, storage, and registration that are expensive and complex, rendering seed exchange or marketing economically unfeasible or jeopardizing compliance with the regulations.

2. The new draft also establishes a mandatory registry for anyone who wishes to exchange or sell seeds, requiring compliance with a long list of obligations, including a detailed description of the seeds to be exchanged or marketed, mandatory packaging and labeling, storage facilities with certain specifications, commercial documentation (such as invoices), and more. Failing to meet regulations will result in high fines and may criminalize all individuals participating in seed exchanges, making the sale of their own seeds a risk that cannot be taken.

3. Arbitrarily, and without legal justification, the draft creates the position of «variety representative,” defined as someone who registers a variety with the SAG. No prior experience or requirements are needed to be a “representative”; they only need to provide their identification, a description, and a seed sample for the variety they wish to represent, along with paying any fees set by SAG. This can be anyone—a person or a company, domestic or foreign— without any necessity to have produced the seeds or belonging to a peasant or indigenous community.

What authority will the “variety representative” hold? We don’t know because the proposed text keeps it vague. However, given the track record of seed privatization and the relentless ambition shown by seed companies, this could lead to demands for property rights or commercial exclusivity soon enough. In other words, the SAG’s proposal lays the groundwork for the administrative privatization of peasant seeds.

The text proposed by SAG bears the unmistakable mark of ANPROS, an association that represents seed companies, including multinationals like Syngenta, Bayer, and Monsanto. For years, ANPROS has claimed to have no interest in peasant seeds, yet, in practice, they seek to impose laws that would enable the privatization and appropriation of those seeds while criminalizing the free exchange of seeds.

SAG is now calling for a “citizen consultation,” but its history regarding seeds shows it does not heed public opinion. Furthermore, the measures this government has pursued for agriculture indicate a trend towards neglecting and sidelining peasant and indigenous farming in favor of corporate interests and agribusiness.

As ANAMURI and the Alliance for a Better Quality of Life, RAP-Chile, we call for absolute rejection of the measures proposed by SAG, to safeguard our seeds so they remain alive, and to uphold the right and duty to exchange seeds that we have inherited from our ancestors and especially our ancestresses.

Seeds are a heritage of the people that we have committed to the service of humanity. We refuse to leave them in the hands of organizations and firms that only seek to maximize the profits of a few. For food sovereignty, and the right to nourishment for all, we will defend, care for, and share our seeds under our rules and principles.

La entrada Organizations Respond to SAG’s New Seed Marketing Resolution: «We Call for Absolute Rejection» se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.