| Farmer-scientist group calls for IRRI’s immediate closure, not another year for IRRI |
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| Written by MASIPAG Information | |
| Friday, 20 November 2009 | |
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Los Banos, Laguna – As the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) are forced to sell their land when synthetic farm inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides in which IRRI varieties are designed to be more responsive, spiked in the past years. “IRRI failed the farmers, and instead favored the huge Agrochemical TNCs. For the past years, these corporations have been profiting from farmers here in the Philippines and in every rice-growing nation in Asia. To date, IRRI is collaborating with private seed companies such as Du Pont and BayerCropSciences in areas of hybrid rice production,” said Dr Chito Medina, National Coordinator of the Magsasaka and Siyentipiko para sa Pag-unlad ng Agrikultura (MASIPAG). Masipag is a national network of farmers, scientists and development workers advocating for a farmer-centered approach in dealing with food security. Accroding to Pepito Babasa, a farmer-leader from Camarines Sur, IRRI failed not only the farmers but the people as well. Even in the face of modern technology espoused by IRRI, rice price has been continuously increasing. The Philippines which hosts IRRI and supposedly the first to receive technologies from IRRI, is currently the number one importer of rice in the world. IRRI is also being blamed for the decreased fertility of soil because of the continued use of fertilizers and pesticides. Juanito Sto. Tomas, a 70-year old farmer Masipag farmer from Teresa, Rizal said that before IRRI, the soil is very fertile and one does not need to use fertilizers. “Before, we just sow seeds in the soil. Because the soil is fertile, plants grow without using these fertilizers. This is not the case nowadays,” he said. Thousands of traditional rice varieties, having different resistances to pests, diseases and tolerance to abiotic stresses that are being used by farmers before IRRI, has also been wiped out because the widespread promotion of HYVs. Medina said that IRRI is now gearing for another Green Revolution which focuses on the use of Genetically Modified (GM) Rice as an adaptive strategy in mitigating climate change and addressing malnutrition. GM rice, he said is the wrong medicine for the ailing farmers. “GM rice will only induce more poverty. GM technology is expensive, and could pose danger on peoples’ health and the environment. GM rice also prevents farmers from sharing and exchanging seeds as the technology and genes that make up the GM rice is being owned by numerous corporations. What the farmers need is not expensive technology but a sustainable one that helps the environment recover and put the farmers interests, needs and aspirations in its center,” he said. IRRI is now holding the 6th International Rice Genetics Symposium which will discuss research on rice genetics, especially topics on identifying abiotic-stress tolerance rice genes and technologies. Masipag has been collecting and breeding traditional rice varieties for more than 20 years as a response to the call of farmers for an alternative to IRRI varieties. Today, it has collected more than a thousand traditional rice varieties and has developed another thousand that are being used and Masipag farmers. Also, a recent study on the household impact of MASIPAG in the Philippines showed that the yield of organic farming is not far from that of chemical-based farming. Sustainable farming through organic farming also contributes to food safety, conservation of genetic resources and empowerment of farmers. Masipag today joins other peasant organizations under the RESIST AgroChemical TNCs, an affiliation of farmers, scientist groups, consumers, academe and other sectors also calling for the immediate closure of IRRI. |
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