SA High Court halts distribution of seeds by Syngenta

The Pretoria High Court of South Africa has ordered multinational seed company, Syngenta, to stop distributing genetically engineered maize seeds until a Department of Agriculture appeals board has considered Biowatch South Africa’s disputation that Syngenta should not have been permitted to grow the GM corn, in the first place.

Justice Daniels of the Transvaal Provincial Division of the High Court made the order on Aug. 20 after Syngenta brought an urgent application to stop the appeals board hearing from proceeding. The judge ordered the date of the appeal board hearing be set back to Sept. 14-15 as it warned Syngenta against the distribution of the contentious seeds until the spring season which is drawing near.

Syngenta was granted a permit to grow genetically engineered corn for human consumption and animal feeds. Biowatch South Africa has objected on procedural and substantive grounds to the manner in which the permit was granted.

Among other flaws identified by Biowatch in the permitting process, the risk assessment presented by Syngenta in respect to its GM corn amounted to nothing more than a cut and paste job from foreign documents making reference to bird species that do not even exist in South Africa.

Syngenta tried to persuade Judge Daniels that they had been given insufficient time to prepare for the appeal.

According to Syngenta’s lawyer, Hendrik Christoffel Reeders, his client feared it would "be ambushed at the hearing of the appeal, since it is unclear in which manner Biowatch intends adducing evidence in support of its appeal. It is essential to Syngenta’s cause that its witnesses be available at the hearing to assess and counter, where relevant, Biowatch’s evidence. - Antonio Claparols