Brussels, 17/10/2006 (Agence Europe) - The European Farmers' Coordination (EFC) is protesting against a bill on seeds to be voted by the Turkish parliament on 17 October. In a letter to the Turkish parliamentarians, the EFC stresses that the proposed legislation would mean that farmers would no longer own their seeds. The EFC writes that this kind of law, which exists in some EU countries, makes small farmers increasingly dependent upon the large multinational seed and pesticide companies. It calls on the members of the Turkish parliament to do everything in their power to ensure that the law in question: - upholds farmers' rights to sow their own seeds or those of other farmers; - helps farmers who use local seed and who work to maintain the traditional seed varieties; - protects biodiversity; - does not impose any financial or administrative constraints on small farmers; - and protects the country's agriculture while avoiding contamination of crops by GMOs. Turkey must do everything it can to help its farmers and safeguard its farming heritage, the EFC concludes. (lc)