Alliance shout, IRRI Out!

April 5, 2010

The Southern Tagalog farmers brought in Manila their drought-stricken carabao named IRI-AW to call for the closure of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) that marked its 50th year yesterday (April 4). The protest in front of the Department of Agriculture is led by an alliance of farmers, scientists, environmentalists, health workers and NGOs called Resistance and Solidarity against Agrochemical TNCs (RESIST Agrochem TNCs).
The group said, While the whole world is grappling with the dreadful effects of climate change, the world's premier rice center, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), offers nothing but the same old technological solutions. IRRI’s drought-, flood- and saline water-tolerant varieties are not going to work. The problem is not the occurrence of climate change, but that it is largely a result of an industrial food system that IRRI's seeds and technology continue to perpetuate and reinforce.
IRRI will celebrate its 50th anniversary in the midst of a global food and climate crisis. At least 2.4 billion people are currently living in highly water-stressed environments. Since the start of 2010 alone, at least 2.4 million people have already died of hunger, while more than a billion people are suffering from undernutrition.1
Pesticide poisonings (estimated at 25 million occurrences involving agricultural workers per year), environmental and health calamities, soil degradation and major pest outbreaks, such as brown plant hopper infestations, continue to haunt farming communities across Asia because of the increasing use of fertilizers and pesticides that IRRI’s modern rice varieties require.
“ After 50 years of IRRI, with poverty and food crises as rampant as ever in Asia, now is the time to call for its closure. It failed its promise “to reduce poverty and hunger, improve the health of rice farmers and consumers, and ensure that rice production is environmentally sustainable,” remarked Dr. Chito Medina, convenor of RESIST Agrochem TNCs and national coordinator of MASIPAG (Farmer’s and Scientists for the Development of Agriculture).

Wilfredo Marbella deputy secretary general for internal affairs of the Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) and convenor of RESIST Agrochem TNCs said that, ““IRRIs Green Revolution is likewise a failure. A few decades into the Green Revolution, poverty in rural Asia had in fact worsened. The Green Revolution robbed Asia ’s rice producers and brought on even greater burdens such as debts, declining yields, health problems, a ruined ecosystem, and loss of biodiversity.”
Marbella added that, “Before the introduction of high yielding varieties (HYVs) and hybrid rice that are mainly for irrigated fields, the rice production is dominated by traditional varieties notably “milagrosa”, “wagwag”, “dinorado” and “buenavista” that are resistant to most pest and diseases and with good taste.
“Besides, indigenous varieties do not need any intensive input and could be save and re-use by farmers for the next planting season without having to worry about breach of any contract or patent. Farmers also hold the preference to select which among the traditional varieties is most suitable to their lands without the burden of expensive technology needed to ensure the expected yield,” Marbella stressed.
To mark IRRI's 50th anniversary, RESIST! Agrochemical TNCs, has come up with 50 compelling reasons why IRRI must be shut down. (see separate file)
The event is part of the Asia-wide year-long protest against IRRIs 50th year dubbed “Year of Rice Action (YORA)” that started last April 4, 2009. The YORA will culminate on April 12, 2010 in the Philippines while simultaneous actions will be held in different countries across Asia. It is led by Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific (PAN AP) and participated by members of the Asian Peasant Coalition (APC). #