| 48 Years of IRRI: Philippines Still Food Insecure |
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| Written by MASIPAG | |
| Friday, 04 April 2008 | |
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The rice shortage that is currently threatening the country should at the least, serve as a wake up call for the government to redirect its agricultural policies to achieve rice sufficiency and food security. The Department of Agriculture has been dependent on rice imports and genetic engineering technology to supposedly solve the problem of low rice productivity, instead of seriously looking into and providing the necessary support for the local production. We in MASIPAG find it very ironic that an agricultural country which hosts the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) for almost half a century is still threatened with shortage of rice and has to rely on imports to curb hunger. For forty-eight years, IRRI has been doing researches on rice trying to look for answers to the worsening problems in agricultural productivity and malnutrition. The Green Revolution program, introduced by IRRI in the 60s, propagated high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of rice and made popular the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides. The program introduced a new system in agriculture, one where farmers became dependent on commercial seeds and the package of chemicals that comes along with it. Far from improving the lives of the farmers in the country, Green Revolution achieved the exact opposite of its objective. The HYVs did not turn out to be high-yielding, in fact after several croppings, yields declined drastically, owing to the attacks of pests and diseases which persisted despite the use of chemical inputs. Between the application of more pesticides (meaning higher expenses) and decreased yields, farmers were further driven into indebtedness that most of their harvest would go to debt payments. With its current promotion of the Gene Revolution, it seems that IRRI did not learn any lesson from the disaster that was Green Revolution. Research and promotion of genetically modified crops, including rice have been taking up most of IRRI’s resources, who have welcomed “grants” from private multi-national companies such as Syngenta and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Biofortified rice and abiotic stresses-resistant rice are being peddled by IRRI and its patrons to supposedly address problems on malnutrition and climatic phenomena such as floods, drought and salt-water intrusion. MASIPAG believes that such a technology could still fail to uplift production and farmers’ lives. IRRI has always been focused on the technological fix, gravely overlooking the context based on basic problems of the Philippine agriculture. Seven out of ten farmers still do not till their own lands, and most of them are merely subsistence farmers who can hardly provide three square meals for their family. A technology that depends largely on heavy application of expensive chemical fertilizers and pesticides would only bring additional burden for the farmer. The price of these chemical inputs will continue to rise as the cost of fuel in the world market is ever-escalating. The so-called Gene Revolution neglects to correct terrible practices instilled by its predecessor. Monocropping, or the planting of a single rice variety risks the farmers’ crop to pest attacks and diseases. Unlike if there are two or more varieties of rice, the farmer is assured that he or she would have other source of harvest even if one is attacked by pests o diseases. The heavy use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides renders the soil acidic, causing nutrient imbalance which will severely decrease the yield. The Philippines is not isolated in these cases. All over Asia, there is a similar experience of decreased productivity because of pests, diseases, and climatic reasons. The Philippines’ traditional sources of rice imports, such as Vietnam, Thailand, India and China have withdrawn their rice exports in order to provide enough for their own people. Rice shortage and insufficiency is sweeping the whole world, and IRRI has yet to succeed in contributing to food security. MASIPAG firmly believes that IRRI has failed in its mandate to stop world hunger and increase rice productivity. Its forty-eight years of operation has done nothing to improve the lives of farmers and consumers all over the world. Instead they poisoned the farms, eroded the vast varieties of rice, stomped down the rich culture of farming and destroyed the farmers’ indigenous knowledge and self-reliance. To truly achieve rice sufficiency and food security, agricultural research must be based on the farmers’ capacity and needs. It should take into consideration the diversity and complexity of the environment, and maximize rich natural resources such as traditional rice varieties. Local seed varieties are more suitable and adapted to the environment and climate, which assures the farmers of better yields. The use of chemical inputs is not only destructive to the farmers’ budget, it also depletes the soil of its fertility. Organic fertilizers from plants, and livestock are a safer means to enrich the soil and rice crop. Food security is not merely the availability of food, rather, the capacity of the country to produce sufficient and safe food for the consumers. Importing rice from other countries is not enough. Genetically modified crops are not a sustainable means to provide food for the people as it greatly compromises the environment, livelihood of the farmers and the health of the consumers. Now, more than ever, proves that IRRI has failed its mandate, and should pack up and leave. # |
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