DAVAO CITY – Organic farming advocates are gearing up for the City Council Committee on Agriculture hearing on the genetically modified BT talong this Thursday, February 3, 2011, but fear that their voices will not be heard as the Committee, headed by Councilor Conrado Baluran, does not seem keen on hearing the side of the anti-GMO movement.
Davao City’s Upland Watersheds
What is happening to the watersheds today?
Massive deforestation due to illegal logging and years of neglect endanger the Davao mountain’s capacity to continue serving its function as large water reservoirs.
The expansion of agricultural plantations is dramatically changing the landscape of the uplands resulting in soil erosion, landslides, and flashfloods, threatening our water sources.
Organic farming advocates refute DA official’s claims; organic agriculture is the key to crop productivity.
DAVAO CITY – Members of the Go Organic Mindanao movement refuted the statements made by Department of Agriculture official, Dr. Saturnina Halos, when she urged city councilors at a briefing last week to review the law that promotes organic agriculture because it can impede crop production in the country.
New international study shows Bt gene to be toxic
DAVAO CITY – Organic farming advocates in Davao welcomed the latest independent study which revealed that the consumption of the Bt eggplant can cause inflammation, reproductive disorders and liver damage. The Institute for Independent Impact Assessment in Biotechnology released a report prepared by Lou Gallagher, an environmental epidemiologist and risk assessment expert from New Zealand […]
Cancellation of permit to test genetically modified eggplant hailed
DAVAO CITY, Philippines—Advocates of sustainable agriculture welcomed the decision of the Bureau of Plant Industry to cancel the permit to test-grow genetically modified eggplant, locally referred to as “BT talong.”
The bureau had granted the permit to the University of the Philippines in Mindanao and the Visayan State University in Baybay, Leyte.
Things I should know about the Davao City Watershed Code
Contains the key provisions of the city’s landmark ordinance – the importance of watersheds, the areas in the watersheds that need to protected, who is tasked to ensure its implementation and the penalties for those who do not follow the law.
Stop poison rain, foreign experts ask Arroyo
Two hundred signatories from 44 countries, among them, noted scientists and health experts, have asked President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to end poison rain or the aerial pesticide spraying of banana plantations in Mindanao.
Loudmouths vs mouthpieces
Cotabato (formerly North Cotabato) passed a Provincial Environment Code in 2004. Sec. 78 of the code prohibits aerial spraying on croplands and plantations. This has not interfered with the success of its declared policy redirecting its agriculture from traditional toward ?market-oriented,? with bananas as one of the four major principal products given major support. Thousands of hectares devoted to bananas are flourishing?sans aerial spraying.
People run for cover when crop dusters fly
Dili kami peste (We are not pests.) This is the cry of communities near banana plantations in Mindanao who have to suffer the adverse effects of regular toxic aerial spraying meant to kill pests in bananas. School children on their way to school, farmers cultivating their small farms, people drinking coffee al fresco and families doing their daily chores are among those who suffer indirect hits and have to run for cover when airplanes unleash pesticides on vast banana plantations. While they are not the intended targets, there is no way they can avoid getting hit by the airplanes? toxic load. Respiratory and skin ailments are among the first signs of a toxic hit.
Profit vs. People: A point-by-point response to plantation companies’ assertions on aerial spraying
Davao City is waging a battle to stop banana plantations from using aerial spraying as a way of dispensing pesticides. The practice exposes more people and the environment to poison. Banana plantations assert that the pesticides they use are safe and that aerial spraying hardly affects anyone. The primer answers these points one by one based on scientific studies all around the world and testimonies of affected residents.