August 8, 2017
Press Statement
Asia
farmers‘ network resound strong call to Stop Golden Rice!
Stop Golden Rice! Defend our Farmers‘ Rights! remains the
resounding call of Asia farmers‘ network against the impending
commercialization of Golden Rice in Asia. Four
years after the militant uprooting of Golden Rice, waves of protest
mobilizations stirs anew in the Philippines and Bangladesh against its
commercialization, while debate rages on in Indonesia, India and other Asian
countries where Golden Rice is planned for commercial release.
Today, a protest campaign in
front of Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) was held by hundreds of
farmers and civil society supporters led by the National
Women Farmers and Workers Association (NWFA) and Bangladesh Agricultural Farm
Labour Federation (BAFLF). A public forum on GMOs and
Golden Rice was also held by NWFA and BAFLF few days back last August 4-5 in
Gazipur to bring the public issue to the fore.
Nasrin Sultana of NWFA explained that “Since 2006, we have consistently protested
and even formed a barricade in BRRI against Golden Rice. We denounce the
government approval of Golden Rice commercialization. The public must be alarmed with the great risks of Golden
Rice consumption to food safety and public health. Golden rice
commercialization equates to billions worth of annual corporate profit in
expanse of consumers’ health and farmers’ seed freedom. This cannot be
allowed”.
The Golden Rice debate is marred by conflicts
and controversy. After decades of
research, the efficacy, safety and viability of Golden Rice remains uncertain
and pose grave threat to food safety and consumers’ health. It is within this
ground that government of China and academic journal publishers sanctioned and
retracted the research work of scientists who engaged in unethical feeding of
Golden Rice to children whose families were not informed that they were being
fed Golden Rice last 2012. To date, there are no published reports proving that
Golden Rice is safe for human consumption. Add to this the recent published
study stating that Golden Rice is unfit for commercial cultivation due to poor
agronomic performance leading to low yield.
Aliansi
Gerakan Reform Agrari (AGRA), a national peasant federation in Indonesia in
statement expressed that “Indonesia, as
with the whole region, is also threatened by the growing corporate control over
agriculture and consequent erosion of traditional seed resources. The
government promotes GMOs and 80-90% of our soybeans and corn imports are GMOs. The
Indonesia National Food Policy proclaimed to boost volume of food production,
mainly rice production with the application of genetic engineering of 19 food crops,
primarily rice, corn, sorghum, and soybean. Golden Rice will be an eventual
real threat to our farmers, making it an imperative for us to campaign and
support the Asia wide campaign against Golden Rice commercialization”
India host two-thirds of the world’s rice
varieties. Campaigns in India have gained momentum against genetically
engineered rice, including the Save our Rice network, the Folk Rice Movement
and the Seed Mothers movement; all working to conserve and salvage thousands of
traditional and indigenous seed varieties which would have otherwise been
eroded by the onslaught of hybrid technology and conventional chemical inputs
in the past decades. Recent news on the establishment of IRRI's South Asia's
Regional Centre in city of Varanasi in the last quarter of 2017 have raised
alarm as it may serve as a pretext to the government’s aggressive move to
commercialize genetically engineered rice. The bitter tragedy hundred thousands of
farmers succumbing to suicide in the past decade is linked with debt chains
acquired from the seed monopoly of Monsanto thru BT Cotton in the cotton belt
region remain to haunt the country.
In Philippines, the Golden Rice issue was
stirred anew with the renewed application for field trial and direct use last
February 2017 despite the absence of public dialogue. To commemorate the
historic uprooting and protest action against golden rice last August 8, 2013,
hundreds of farmers will gather to hold a public forum in Nueva Ecija in
Central Luzon, the rice granary of the country where Philippine Rice Research
Insitute (PhilRICE) Golden Rice experimental fields are located. A civil
society roundtable discussion on August 10 and a public dialogue between
government and civil society will also be on August 11 within the national
capital to re-echo public opposition against Golden Rice.
“Golden Rice is a greedy scientific enterprise of IRRI and
corporations masked as humanitarian aid. It deviates from the real solution to
malnutrition which is to fight poverty, uphold genuine agrarian reform and
promote diverse nutritious, natural and easily accessible food sources. Its ultimate interest is to
secure top profit arena and monopoly control of global food system
since billions rely, produce and consume rice. The looming Golden Rice
commercialization anchored on neoliberal market will flood the region with
massive and unregulated trade of GM rice. This spells doom to our country where
the quantitative restriction on rice importation will soon be lifted. Golden
rice is a death reaper to our local local rice sector as traditional rice
varieties will be vulnerable to GMO contamination. Stop Golden Rice! is a call
to defend life and freedom against this oppressive claws of corporate control” stated by Cristino Panerio,
National Coordinator of the Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa Pag-unlad ng
Agrikultura (MASIPAG), a local farmer-scientist movement in the forefront of
campaigns against golden rice commercialization in the past decade.
Since its inception in 2001, Syngenta
(currently merged with ChemChina), Rockefeller Foundation, the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation among others have poured millions of funds thru the
International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) in the research and promotion of
Golden Rice, a genetically engineered rice touted to address Vitamin A
deficiency. But, strong and consistent peoples’ protests in the past decades
impeded its planned commercialization particularly in Bangladesh, Philippines
and India.
In August 8, 2013, more than 400 farmers led
the historic uprooting of Golden Rice experimental fields at Pili, Camarines
Sur to signal strong opposition to Golden rice trials and commercialization.
Corporate proponents thru their media mouthpieces, such as Mark Lynas ang
Patrick Moore, vilified the farmers’ direct action. The peasant movement in the
Philippines, however, reiterated their dissent against Golden Rice as a
legitimate conviction to defend rights against corporate control of agriculture
thru GMOs.
An Asia Farmers’ Conference against Golden
Rice was subsequently held in 2014 with more than 70 farmers, people’s
organizations from the region echoing their stand against Golden Rice. The
campaigns proved successful as it triggered broader public attention,
institutional debate and exposed the deceitful corporate claims on the Golden
Rice issue in the national and international arena – ultimately leading to
postponement of its commercialization.###
Established
in 2014 and reconvened this 2017, the Stop Golden Rice! Network is a regional
campaign collaboration of more than 30 organizations in South Asia and South
East Asia. It works against the commercialization of Golden Rice and other
forms of genetically modified crops, towards a society with equity, food
sovereignty, sustainable and ecology-based agriculture. This is joint statement
of its lead convening
organizations and networks.
For more details
please contact:
Ms Ana Christina Bibal
Project Coordinator
STOP GOLDEN RICE! Network
STOP GOLDEN RICE! Network members:
RESIST! Agri-TNCs Network- Philippines, MASIPAG
(Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa Pag-unlad ng Agrikultura), KMP (Kilusang
Mangbubukid ng Pilipinas), PNSFP (Philippine Network for Food Security
Programs), SIBAT (Sibol ng Agham at Teknolohiya), HEAD (Health action for
Democracy), PAN Phils (Pesticide Action Network-Phils, TFIP (Philippine Task
Force for Indigenous Peoples Rights), CENDI (Community Entrepreneur Development
Institute), SRD (Center for Sustainable Rural Development), Vietnam, SPFT
(Southern Peasants Federation of Thailand), AGRA (Alliance of Agrarian Reform
Movement), SERUNI National Women’s Alliance, Indonesia, NWFA (National Women
Farmers and Workers Association), BAFLF (Bangladesh Agricultural Farm Labour
Federation), SHISUK (Shikha Shastha Unnayan Karzakram), Bangladesh, APVUU
(Andhra Pradesh Vyavasaya Vruthidarula Union), ORRISSA (Organization for Rural
Reconstruction and Integrated Social Services Activities), CREATE, India THANAL,
India, Save Our Rice Network, India, PAN-INDIA (Pesticide Action
Network-India), India, GRAIN, PAN-AP (Pesticide Action Network-Asia Pacific), APC
(Asian Peasants Coalition), Consumers Union of Japan, Women’s Development
Federation WELIGEPOLA, MONLAR, Sri Lanka
