Farmers want free choice on Bt corn issue

Several farmers’organizations recently called on President Arroyo to ensure that they are given free choice on the selection of corn varieties in the wake of the growing debate on the introduction of a genetically modified corn variety.

Some nongovernment organiza-tions backed by international protest group Greenpeace issued recently a demand to the Department of Agricul-ture (DA) to stop farmers from planting the high-yielding chemical-free Bt corn variety on allegations that it could harm a species of butterflies and cause cancer and deformities.

The farmer groups earlier expres-sed fear that the DA "might succumb to Greenpeace pressure" and stop them from planting the variety.

Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr. said, however, that there is "no sufficient scientific evidence that would warrant a halt in the domestic propagation of Bt corn."

"There is no new scientific evidence so far and that is one of the require-ments before we could consider a moratorium," Lorenzo said.

Among the farmers groups backing the government’s approval for the do-mestic propagation of Bt corn are the Philippine Maize Federation, Inc. which is the country’s biggest organi-zation of corn farmers, the Nursery Farmers Irrigators Association, the Matatag Farmers Irrigators Associa-tion, the Agriculture and Fisheries Council of General Santos City and the Provincial Farmers Action Council in South Cotabato.

The farmers groups cited the super-ior performance of Bt corn in the field trials conducted prior to the approval for its commercialization. Results showed Bt corn bested traditional varieties from 10-38 percent.

The farmers also pointed out that the superior performance was achieved "with little or no application of toxic chemical insecticides due to the varie-ty’s natural resistance to the deadly Asiatic corn borer."

The groups asked the President "to leave the final choice to us as to what variety we want to plant." If the government stops them from planting Bt corn, "that would be like depriving us our freedom of choice," they said.

The farmers have been opposed by several nongovernment organizations and well-known protest personalities, including folk singer Heber Bartolome and running priest Roberto Reyes.

The anti-GMO groups vowed to stop the farmers from planting Bt corn fearing that the variety could harm a beneficial insect variety called Mon-arch butterfly. Local Greenpeace lobbyists have also alleged that Bt corn can cause cancer and deformities.

Several anti-GMO groups are cur-rently staging hunger strikes to de-mand that the DA stop the farmers from planting the variety.