Some aspects of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) agreement are feared to raise the cost of farm output and curb farmers' rights in developing countries including Bangladesh from January 2006 when it takes affect.

Because, the WTO agreements on Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights (TRIP) would enable the inventing organisations or companies to prevent farmers of Bangladesh and other least developed countries from using part of their harvest as seeds, speakers at a regional workshop held in the city yesterday apprehended.

The rued that even in such a context the government has very few policies and legislative preparation in place to protect the age-old traditional economic sectors like agriculture.

The government should persistently advise the farmers and other traditional livelihood earners to help protect their rights, observed the speakers at the two-day workshop on "Protecting Farmers rights: Issues and options".

Intellectual property rights experts and environmentalists from Bangladesh, Nepal, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka are participating in the workshop. The Bangladesh Environmental Lawyers Association (BELA) in collaboration with the South Asian Watch on Trade, Economics and Environment (SAWTEE), the Ministry of Environment, UNDP and Ford Foundation arranged it.

Commerce Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury inaugurated the workshop while State Minister for Forest and Environment Jafrul Islam Chowdhury was present.

Amir Khosru said once the TRIP agreement is fully implemented, price of agriculture input and the cost of the farm production would surely shoot up.

"A national committee on plant genetic resources has prepared two drafts on the Bio-diversity and Community Knowledge Protection Act within the guidelines of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and TRIP," the minister said.

"The flexibility available under the CBD and TRIP were used to the optimum level to ensure the farmer's rights over their own biological and national resources in making these draft laws," he added.

But other speakers were not so sure that the farmers' rights would be adequately protected.

Jafrul Islam said the issue of farmer rights is of national interest and importance as agricultural sector contributes to one third of the gross domestic products and accounts for two-thirds of the labour force.

He said Bangladesh has signed international treaty on plant genetic resources for food and agriculture in recognition to the importance of biodiversity in public life and the roles of the farmers in protecting such biodiversity.

Jafrul further said certain arrangements of the WTO are not in absolute conformity with the needs and capacities of the least developed and developing countries like Bangladesh.

Farhad Mazhar and Farida Akhter of Bangladesh, Suman Sahai of India, Hiraramani Ghimire of Nepal, and Dr. Syed Wazid Pirzada of Pakistan presented five separate keynote papers at the workshop.