Thai princess met with protest: Farmer’s call for the abolition of IRRI

LAGUNA, Philippines - The Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP), Kalipunan ng mga Samahang Magbubukid sa Timog Katagalugan (KASAMA-TK), Magsasaka at Syentipiko para sa Pag-unlad ng Agrikultura (MASIPAG), Philippine Network of Food Security Programmes (PNFSP), Resistance and Solidarity against Agrochemical TNCs (RESIST Network) and Asian Peasant Coalition (APC), joined together and led at least 200 people in a protest action today, that coincide with the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) 50th anniversary launch.

The group said they want to meet Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn, second daughter of King Bhumibol Adulyadej and Queen Sirikit of Thailand , who arrived on Sunday paying an official visit to the Philippines from November 15-18.

The truth behind Green Revolution

In a joint statement the farmer’s and scientists group said that. “IRRI was hailed for sparking the “Green Revolution” in 1966 with the invention of IR8.It claims that this agricultural breakthrough rescued millions of Asians from famine and poverty, but only a few decades into the Green Revolution, poverty in rural Asia had in fact worsened.”

“In 2000, the incidence of worldwide hunger actually increased by 11%. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), as of 2008, there were 963 million people living in hunger. Simply increasing the amount of rice production was not the key to eradicating hunger especially when it came at high production costs. Ensuring farmers’ rights to access and control land, seeds, technologies, and other resources was more vital,” said Wilfredo Marbella, KMP internal affairs deputy secretary general.

Dr. Chito Medina, MASIPAG national coordinator said that, “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.”

Dr. Romy Quijano, a Professor of Toxicology from University of the Philippines said that, “IRRI exposed its workers to highly toxic pesticides in its experimental fields. Endrin, endosulfan, carbofuran, paraquat, and methyl bromide were some of the toxic pesticides it applied.”

A study in 2000 led by Pesticide Action Network (PAN)- Philippines, Brotherhood of IRRI Workers Support Services Group (BISSIG), KMP and IOHSAD found that approximately 70% of former IRRI workers suffered various illnesses which they attributed to pesticide exposure. The illnesses reported included cancer, diabetes, lymphoma, Parkinson’s disease, and thyroid, liver and kidney diseases among others. A number of workers have already died as a result. See attached file for details.

"Several chemicals used by IRRI had been banned from use in the US ," added Dr. Quijano, “And yet IRRI blatantly ignored these decisions and utilized these chemicals in their trials….thus exposing their employees to the risks associated with their use."

New Green Revolution?

Meanwhile, Robert Zeigler, head of IRRI, has said that a “New Green Revolution” is needed in response to the current food crisis..

“But IRRI’s so-called solution to the crisis does not differ much from its earlier approach. It is obvious that IRRI has refused to recognize the failure of the first Green Revolution to lift rice farmers from poverty. In reality, uses the current food crisis, as an opportunity to push for the promotion of hybrid and GE rice,” stressed Medina .

This year, IRRI gave US-based seed company, DuPont, privileged access to its hybrid rice breeding lines. Simultaneously, DuPont forged a partnership with Balai Besar Penelitian Padi, Indonesia 's premier hybrid rice breeding program, which will entrust the company with the marketing of new varieties. Danilo H. Ramos, the Secretary-General of the Asian Peasants Coalition (APC), predicts that if DuPont is successful in wiping out indigenous varieties in favor of commercial varieties, an Asia-wide man-made catastrophe instigated byIRRI is imminent.

Rice Robbery

Farmers had been growing hundreds of thousands of rice varieties for centuries but 30 years after HIVs were introduced much of the diversity has been lost. Today, only five HIVs are being grown in 90% of the rice paddies in Malaysia and Pakistan , about 50% of the rice fields in Thailand and Myanmar , and approximately 25% of those in China and Indonesia .

IRRI has collected more than 100,000 varieties of rice germplasm. Stored in an International Rice Genebank Collection, IRRI is supposed to hold this “in trust” for humanity, under an agreement with the FAO. Yet IRRI appears eager to appropriate rice genetic resources and knowledge for the benefit of agrochemical and seed companies.

Marbella stressed that. “Before the introduction of HYVs and hybrid rice that are mainly for irrigated fields, the rice production is dominated by traditional varieties notably “milagrosa”, “wagwag”, “dinorado” and “buenavista”. These varieties could only yield about 20-30 cavans per hectare but 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 said varieties is most suitable to their lands without the burden of expensive technology needed to ensure the expected yield,” added Marbella .

Medina added that, “In 2007, a handful of agro-chemical and seed TNCs have been raking in billions of dollars in profits such as Bayer ($ 7.4 B), Syngenta ($ 7.2 B), BASF ($ 4.2 B), Dow AgroSciences ($ 3.7 B) and Monsanto ($3.5 B). The worldwide market for agrochemicals was USD 38.6 billion in 2007, up 8.4% from the previous year.

These agrochemical companies are also the world’s seed industry giants in 2007 such as Monsanto ( $ 4.9 B), DuPont ( $ 3.3 B), and Syngenta ( $ 2 B). In 2007, Monsanto, accounted for almost one-quarter or 23% of the global seed market.”

50 years of IRRI is enough

IRRI’s anniversary on April 4 is marked each year with coordinated protest actions worldwide, led by Philippine groups usually in front of its Laguna headquarters.

In April 2006, the First International People’s Tribunal against IRRI, sponsored by Pesticide Action Network Asia Pacific (PAN AP) and the Asian Peasant Coalition (APC) was held in the Philippines . Former IRRI workers, farmers, doctors, scientists, and other professionals testified against IRRI in front of more than 400 people from all over the world. IRRI was indicted for the following crimes: violation of workers and peasants’ rights; land grabbing; pesticide poisoning; and the introduction of HIVs, hybrid rice, and GE seeds that facilitated imperialist plunder and control of agriculture.

April 4 also marks the beginning and end dates for the Year of Rice Action ( YORA) 2009-2010, launched by PAN AP and its partner organizations throughout Asia . IRRIs 50th anniversary will be met by a region-wide call by people’s movements for the closure of IRRI with the slogan: “Fifty years of IRRI is enough!”

Today, as Princess Sirindhorn will be conferred a Doctor of Law Degree (Honoris Causa) by the University of the Philippines (UP) in Los Baños, we are hopeful that she will meet us and listen to our demands:

* Abolition of IRRI

* Repeal of Presidential Decree 1620

* Indemnification of RRI victims

* Returns all the rice varieties in IRRIs seed bank

* Cease imperialist plunder and control of Philippine agriculture

* Support the struggle of Asian farmers for genuine agrarian reform.

”We’ve cited IRRIs crimes. We stand up to prevent Asia ’s rice culture and heritage from being lost to agrochem TNCs. We will continue to expose and resist the poverty, hunger, sickness, environmental ruin, and disempowerment caused by capitalist-oriented rice research and development,” ended Marbella . #