An X Space on the EAC Agroecology Law drew a bigger crowd than we expected
Farmers, lawyers and regional policy people spent two hours arguing about seed, subsidies and what a regional agroecology law should actually contain.
We hosted an X Space on the EAC Agroecology Law expecting a modest turnout and a polite conversation. We got two hours and a queue of people waiting to speak.
The argument that kept coming back
Whether a regional law helps or hinders. One camp argued that national legislation moves faster and can be tailored. The other pointed out that seed and agrochemicals cross borders freely, and a national rule is only as strong as the weakest neighbouring one.
Both are right, which is why the Bill is drafted as a model law requiring domestication rather than as a directly applicable instrument.
What farmers asked about
Almost entirely practical things. Would a seed bank need a licence. What happens to someone already growing with certified seed. Who pays for the transition. These are the questions that decide whether a law is adopted or resented, and they deserve better answers than we currently have.
