DEBATE TIME 12 read these newspaper articles and use them as food for thought for debating the following motions. 1. Farmers should pay high nes if they keep on sowing farm seeds instead of buying patented seeds. 2. water should be privatised to cope with its shortage. The New Colonialist Food Economy Is Water Privatisation a Smart Move? Based on laws written more than three decades ago in Geneva by Western seed companies, the new generation of agricultural reforms seeks to institute legal and nancial penalties throughout the African Union for farmers who fail to adopt foreign-engineered seeds protected by patents, including genetically modi ed versions of native seeds. The resulting seed economy would transform African farming into a bonanza for global agribusiness, promote export-oriented monocultures, and undermine resilience during a time of deepening climate disruption. Water is of fundamental importance to human life. Without it, humanity would be able to neither survive nor thrive. There has been strong moral debate about whether governments or private businesses should be responsible for the supply and distribution of water due to the fact that water is a scarce resource that demands humanity s utmost attention. Water scarcity is a problem of paramount importance that has been worrying scientists over the past years. In 2015, NASA s satellite data revealed that 21 of the world s 37 large aquifers are severely water-stressed, which means that water supply is decreasing at alarming rates. Human life in countries like Jordan is already being threatened by both an increased deserti cation as well as a growing population. Adapted from: https://www.thenation.com/article/ world/new-colonialist-food-economy Adapted from: https://topicinsights.com/ sustainability/water-privatization 164 Soil, wAter And plAntS