March 9, 2010

(L-R: Jean Yasol, SEARICE policy officer, and Filipino farmer Isidoro "Boy" Ancog, at the press conference for Ancog; photo by AFA)

Press Release: Asian Farmers' Association for Sustainable Development (AFA)

Quezon City, Philippines, March 9, 2010 - Multinational companies like Monsanto, Syngenta, Cargil, and Bayer, are expanding their markets for genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in developing countries like the Philippines.

This was the warning raised by anti-GMO groups in a press conference in Quezon City on March 9. The press conference was organized for Isidoro "Boy" Ancog, the Filipino farmer who went on hunger strike at the FAO’s 10th international technical conference on Agricultural biotechnologies in developing countries (ABDC-10) in Guadalajara, Mexico last March 1-4, to protest what is perceived to be the planned massive promotion of the commercial use of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) as a solution to poverty and hunger in developing countries.

A GMO is an organism which carries genetic material that has been made in the laboratory and transferred into it by genetic engineering.

Citing studies here and abroad, anti-GMO activists pointed to its risks to the environment and human health.

Raul Socrates Banzuela, National Coordinator of the Pambansang Kilusan ng mga Samahang Magsasaka (PAKISAMA), a national confederation of peasant organizations in the Philippines, said that it is important for the public to be aware of the dangers of GMOs flooding the country.

He said that the public cannot allow GMOs to be imposed on farmers because it is a false solution to the problem of hunger and poverty.

He said that the public cannot allow GMOs to be imposed on farmers because it is a false solution to the problem of hunger and poverty.

The first GMO to be approved for commercial release in the Philippines in December 2002 was the pest resistant Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn and is now cultivated all over the country.

“We call on the government to immediately sign and implement the Organic Agriculture Act, which bans GMO products in the country,” said Banzuela.

He also lamented that, during this time of electoral campaign, no candidate has spoken on the issue of GMOs.

Jean Yasol, Policy Officer of the Southeast Asia Regional Initiatives for Community Empowerment (SEARICE), said that we should not only look at the technical side of modern biotechnologies, but also at political issues, like intellectual property rights, corporate concentration of power, and problems with modern biotechnologies like GMOs, which multinational corporations want farmers to adopt.

“We should look beyond the promises of modern biotechnology and also be aware of the problems, especially for developing countries with limited funds and knowledge on its negative effects,” said Yasol.

See related stories, "Farmer explains protest against GM crops";

"FAO Conference Draws Ire From Civil Society; Industry Satisfied By Event";

"Smallholders important in biotechnologies".

View more photos of the press conference

PAKISAMA and SEARICE are both members of the NO2GMO coalition, which is leading the advocacy against GMOs in the Philippines.

Isidoro “Boy” Ancog, an organic farmer from Bohol who was the lone farmer and civil society voice inside the FAO biotechnology conference in Mexico, said that he went on hunger strike to demonstrate his objection to the heavy bias of the conference towards GMOs, hiding behind the term “biotechnologies”.

Farmers object to GMOs, because it takes away our freedom to experiment in the selection and exchange of seeds like we traditionally do,” Ancog said, adding that, “it gives the multinational companies control over seeds.”

He repeated his statement during the ABDC-10 conference where he said, “It is very clear that GMO is an attack on life; it is an insult to the most ancient culture, which is agriculture; it runs against ecology; it violates the law of nature and above all, it is disrespectful of the integrity of creation.”

ABDC-10 was hosted by the Government of Mexico and co-sponsored by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR), the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) and the World Bank. Participants to the conference are from delegations of Member States of FAO; from the United Nations and its specialized agencies; other intergovernmental organizations; international non-governmental organizations and international civil society organizations; the conference Steering Committee; as well as invited speakers and panelists at the conference. Ancog was an official observer to ABDC-10, representing PAKISAMA, and the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development (AFA), an association of 9 national farmer federations from 8 Asian countries.