GM deception in the Philippines

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GM deception in the Philippines

" GM WATCH " <info

 

Thu, 13 Jan 2005 12:27:34 GMT

 

 

 

GM deception in the Philippines

http://www.gmwatch.org

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Roberto Verzola provides the latest in GM Watch's REVIEW OF THE YEAR

series, focusing on what's been happening in the Philippines.

 

And it couldn't be more to the point on a day full of ISAAA-inspired

media reports about how developing world farmers can't get enough GM

seed.

 

The ISAAA have focused particularly on the Philippines and have even

had the much-used Philippines farmer, Edwin Paraluman, join ISAAA's

founder and Chairman, Clive James on a conference call with reporters

yesterday to tell the media all about the benefits to the small farmer of

growing GM.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5202-2005Jan12.html

 

The report claims that a massive expansion in acreage for Monsanto's Bt

corn has occurred in the country, but Roberto Verzola in the

Philippines explains how that expansion has actually been achieved:

 

" The Mon810 Bt corn is distributed in the Philippines without proper

labels, under the brand name DK818YG. Farmers are seldom informed that

the seeds they are getting are genetically-engineered, or that these are

the controversial Bt corn which had been the subject of controversies

in the media and public debates. Often, it is the government which buys

from Monsanto or its distributors the Bt corn seeds, which are then

given for free or at subsidized prices to unsuspecting farmers. Thus, it

is only through stealth, deception and the complicity of government

technicians, agriculturists and policy-makers that Monsanto has

managed to

increase the hectarage of Bt corn in the Philippines, at the expense of

the Filipino tax payer at that. "

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The GE Debate in the Philippines: An Update

By Roberto Verzola

 

Using the foothold that the genetic engineering industry established in

the Philippines when got government approval to commercialize the

Mon810 Bt corn in 2003, they continued in 2004 to expand this foothold by

increasing the hectarage of Bt corn to more than 10,000 hectares, and by

preparing for the commercialization of more GE crops.

 

The Mon810 Bt corn is distributed in the Philippines without proper

labels, under the brand name DK818YG. Farmers are seldom informed that

the

seeds they are getting are genetically-engineered, or that these are

the controversial Bt corn which had been the subject of controversies in

the media and public debates. Often, it is the government which buys

from Monsanto or its distributors the Bt corn seeds, which are then given

for free or at subsidized prices to unsuspecting farmers. Thus, it is

only through stealth, deception and the complicity of government

technicians, agriculturists and policy-makers that Monsanto has

managed to

increase the hectarage of Bt corn in the Philippines, at the expense of

the Filipino tax payer at that.

 

The harvested Bt corn are then sold as feed or food, also without

proper labels, in effect force-feeding Filipinos with the

controversial GE

crop. As a result of the nationwide distribution of Bt corn among

farmers, we can assume that the contamination of local varieties,

particularly open-pollinated varieties whose seeds farmers save for

the next

planting season, has begun. The government has made no effort at all to

determine the extent of this contamination.

 

The creeping contamination of local corn varieties is of serious

concern because of at least two reports of immunological reactions among

farmers in southern Philippines living beside Bt corn fields, possibly

due

to exposure to the Bt corn pollen. We are all awaiting expectantly the

final results of the scientific study by Dr. Terje Traavik of the

Institute of Gene Ecology of Norway regarding this matter.

 

The next GE crops in the pipeline for commercialization are rice and

papaya. The government has been conducting field trials of BB-resistant

rice and Golden Rice. Government researchers have likewise publicly

expressed their commitment to release a commercial ring spot

virus-resistant GE papaya " within three years " .

 

The GE industry lobby group in the Philippines is the Biotech Coalition

of the Philippines (BCP), whose work is funded by ISAAA which in turn

gets its funds from the industry. BCP includes multi-facial GE lobbyists

who sometimes wear government hats, scientist hats, or NGO hats, as the

situation demands. It even includes a bishop and a priest among its

stable of speakers. BCP has been most aggressive in conducting a campaign

among government legislators and the public on the benefits of genetic

engineering.

 

The GE industry campaign in the Philippines is part of wider campaign

by the agrochemical industry to force a shift in farmers' practice

towards the use of hybrids and herbicides.

 

Among Filipino farmers today, the use of inbred or open-pollinated

varieties remains a widespread practice. Farmers obviously want to retain

control over their seeds, by selecting and saving the best portion of

their harvest for the next season's seeds. Multinational seed companies

are conspiring with governments to wrench control over seeds by by

seducing farmers with the " benefits " of F1 hybrid varieties. These

hybrids

do not breed true, and farmers must therefore buy seed every planting

season. Commercial GE seeds, which are likewise mostly hybrids, are part

of this long-term strategy by multinational seed companies to control

the seed industry and therefore our food supply.

 

The other side of the multinational strategy is to get farmers to rely

on herbicides, which offer lower labor costs, but in reality force on

farmers the paradigm of monoculture and chemical farming.

Herbicide-based farming induces farmers to treat other plants as

" weeds " instead of

secondary crops, green manure or soil cover. It also kills or harms pest

predators and parasites as well as nutrient-giving soil organisms,

forcing farmers to rely more on chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

Herbicide-based farming is intended to extend the life of chemical

farming,

which has been widely criticized for its harmful effects on farmers'

livelihood and health, as well as the health of the consumer and the

environment.

 

The anti-GE campaign in the Philippines is therefore closely related to

the movement for organic farming and sustainable agriculture, and to

the farmers' movement to regain control over their seeds, their soils,

and other farm inputs.

 

At the forefront of the campaign are farmers' groups like Pabinhi, a

network of farmers and supportive academics and researchers for

sustainable agriculture, organic farming and farmer-selected seeds.

Also in the

forefront are some enlightened local governments, such as the

provincial government of Bohol in central Philippines, which are

embracing

organic farming and declaring a GE-free policy in agriculture.

 

Anti-GE advocates in the Philippines have strongly pushed for a

sustainable approach to farming and have discovered an approach called

the

System of Rice Intensification (SRI). Through a simple set of seedling,

soil and water management and without requiring special seeds or

expensive inputs, SRI increases rice farmers' yields and incomes

significantly.

In the Philippines, the SRI average is around double the national

average yield. This shows that much of the yield potential in rice, and

possibly even other crops, remain untapped; that such potential can be

realized through natural, organic and certainly non-GE approaches.

Through

the efforts of the Philippine SRI network, rice farmers have become

aware and are now increasingly adopting SRI for rice production, pulling

the rug under the arguments of GE and hybrid rice advocates.

 

As SRI and similar approaches take root among Filipino farmers, they

will gradually realize that they can increase their incomes and improve

their livelihoods better by rejecting the enticements of

agrochemical/GE/seed firms and embracing instead the farmer-,

consumer- and

environment-friendly approaches of sustainable/organic agriculture.

 

12Jan2005

 

 

 

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