Claiming that the ongoing field trial of the genetically modified Golden Rice poses serious health risks to people and environment, militant farmers on Thursday stormed an experimental farm in Pili, Camarines Sur, and uprooted the palay.
Around 30 policemen were unable to stop the mob of about 400 farmers from the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Bikol (KMB) and the Sararong Inisyatiba nin Kahinwanmaan sa Wasakon ang Agrokemikals na Lasong-GMO (Sikwal-GMO), who forced their way into the experimental farm to uproot the rice variant in protest of the experiment.
The KMB, is a regional chapter of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), which opposes the entry of GMOs in the Philippines while SIKWAL-GMO is an alliance of farmers, church people, students, people from the academe and consumers based in Bicol who also reject GMO application in crop and food production.
The attack by the farmers who came from Camarines Sur, Camarines Norte and Sorsogon surprised policemen who responded.
Bert Autor, coordinator of Sikwalgmo and secretary-general of the KMB, said that it took the farmers only 15 minutes to do the job.
“They [farmers] were not able to control their emotional outburst,” Autor said in a statement, adding that the farmers were fired up by warnings from “concerned scientists and peasant leaders” about the “dangers” of the Golden Rice or GM rice to health and its threat to biodiversity.
The International Rice Research Institute (Irri), one of the proponents of the Golden Rice project meanwhile said that the institute, the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) will continue to fight malnutrition through the development of Golden Rice, which aims to reduce vitamin A deficiency, especially among women and children.
In a statement posted in its website, IRRI deputy director general of communications and partnerships Dr. Bruce Tolentino said Golden Rice field trials are part of the IRRI’s work to see if Golden Rice can be a safe and effective way to reduce vitamin A deficiency in the Philippines.
“Vitamin A deficiency is horrible and unnecessary, and we want to do our part to help to reduce it. Our Golden Rice research is part of our humanitarian work to reduce Vitamin A deficiency that mostly affects women and children,” Tolentino said.
“Earlier today one of our Golden Rice field trials located in the Bicol region of the Philippines was vandalized. We are really disappointed that our Golden Rice field trial was vandalized, but it is just one trial and we will continue our Golden Rice research to improve human nutrition,” he added.
The Irri maintains that a vast majority of Filipinos are suffering from vitamin A deficiency with approximately 1.7 million children aged 6 months to 5 years affected. Subclinical vitamin A deficiency affects one out of every ten pregnant women.
Golden Rice field trials are being conducted in the Philippines by PhilRice and the Irri. The field trials have been permitted by the Bureau of Plant Industry—the national regulatory authority in the Philippines for crop biotechnology research and development, after establishing that the trials will pose no significant risks to human health and environment.
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