2 banana plantations violate buffer zone policy
DAVAO CITY – An environment group said two banana plantations in Davao City have not complied with the 50-meter buffer zone requirement. An environmental research commissioned by the Interface Development Interventions (Idis) in several banana plantations in Davao City’s third district showed that two plantations violate the 50-meter buffer zone policy. Lawyer Glocelito C. Jayma, who was commissioned by Idis to conduct the legal research, said that in his five months of research, he found out malpractices of several banana plantations in Sirib and Tawan-tawan in Calinan area. In a forum with different people’s organizations and several barangay officials surrounded by banana plantations about the findings of the research, Jayma said buffer zone refers to the distance between the area planted with bananas from an either private or public structure. “Sa akong research na gibuhat, ug sa ma pag-interview nako sa mga residente didto, nakita nako na nay juy mga wala nag-follow kung unsa naa sa balaod (In my research and interview of residents there, I learned that there are some who failed to follow the law),” Jayma said. The results of the research did not, however, name the two erring banana plantations. Jayma was referring to the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) circular 2009-14, which provides a 50-meter buffer zone surrounding every banana planted area. “In order to protect the environment, as well as the health of the people and pursuant to the recent aerial spraying guidelines issued by the fertilizer and pesticides authority, a buffer zone of 50 meters (50) shall be strictly required from residential areas/rivers or body of water to the Banana plantations,” the circular read. With the findings, affected residents and the DENR may file a case or class suit against erring banana growers who have failed to observe the buffer zone clearly mandated by law. “Mag-agad lang gihapon mi sa mga people’s organizations ug mga apektado na mga residente na mag-file ug kaso kung kailangan (It’s all up to those people’s organizations to file appropriate cases if needed),” said Chinkie Peliño, Idis policy advocacy specialist. Since 1988, Idis has been committed to protecting the inland watershed in the city. The study conducted by Jayma was the first legal research the group has commissioned to investigate the practices of industries including banana growers that aggravate watersheds. (By Jereco O. Paloma, SUNSTAR DAVAO)
Mayor’s order to ban chemicals hailed
DAVAO CITY- An environment group welcomed Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte’s directive to stop the use of chemicals in combating the rat infestation that has plagued farms in the hinterlands. Lia Esquillo, executive director of the Interface Development Interventions Inc. (IDIS), said the directive was in tune with the city’s direction toward ensuring a healthy environment for Dabawenyos. “This comes as no surprise for us, considering that the previous policies that have been crafted in Davao City have always been pro environment,” she said. As a member of the EcoWaste Coalition, advocating sustainable solutions to chemical issues, climate change and waste, IDIS is also campaigning for the widespread adoption of the precautionary principle in dealing with environmental cases such as the rat infestation. The precautionary principle approach puts the protection of health and the environment over and above the purposed benefits the use of chemicals may result to. “The widespread use of a rodenticide to wipe out the rats may have unforeseen effects on the environment. This is why it is best to look at environment-friendly pest management methods to control the rat infestation in croplands,” she added. Esquillo also emphasized the need to protect the biodiversity of the farmlands. “Studies have shown the pest control is an important ecosystem service that is dependent on biodiversity. To improve pest control, we need to ensure that the environment is healthy enough to support diverse populations of natural enemies of pests,” she said. Last week, City Agriculturist’s Office head Leo Avila revealed that the rampant killing of snakes and owls have left the rodents with no natural predators to curb their population.
IDIS joins calls for DA to rehabilitate Mindanao’s watersheds
DAVAO CITY – A local environmental advocacy group welcomed the Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) recommendation that the Department of Agriculture and local government units should prioritize watershed rehabilitation in Mindanao to lessen the impact on farming systems in the island. The Interface Development Interventions, Inc, (IDIS) which advocates for the preservation of the Davao City watershed welcomed BWSM Chief Dr. Silvino Tejada’s remarks but pointed out that rehabilitation should be expanded to include other watershed areas in the island that are in need of protection and preservation. “Here in Davao, our very own Panigan-Tamugan watershed needs protection as it is being threatened by the expansion of corporate plantations at the expense of the small farmers”, said IDIS Executive Director Lia Jasmin Esquillo. Panigan-Tamugan watershed is the location of the City’s future drinking water source. Esquillo revealed that in the case of Mt. Tipolog, Davao’s forgotten volcano which lies on the Panigan-Tamugan range, small farmers have been forced to farm the mountain slopes because the lowlands have already been overrun by agri-plantations devoted to pineapple and bananas. “As in the case of BWSM’s survey on the watershed resources in Northern Mindanao, watersheds here in the Davao region are already overexploited and therefore, small farmers will be at risk from the problems brought about by sudden and frequent climatic change.”, she said. The BWSM survey, which evaluated the soil and land resources of watershed areas in Lanao del Norte, Surigao del Norte and Agusan del Norte, had showed that overexploitation of the natural resources in these areas have resulted to lower productivity among small farms present in the region. Esquillo said that adopting organic farming and prohibiting the further expansion of plantation areas are initiatives that DA should be adopting to restore farm productivity. “Since Davao City already has the Organic Agriculture Ordinance, DA should be mainstreaming organic farming among the barangays in the upland regions as a initial step towards restoring the productivity of the land and in combating threats to food security from climate change”, she said.
Organic farming advocates challenge UPMin to show proof that latest talong plantings are not Bt-modified crops
DAVAO CITY – An island network representing organic farmers and their support groups is challenging the University of the Philippines Mindanao’s (UPMin) assurance that the latest round of eggplant trial testing at its campus site in Bago Oshiro does not involve the genetically modified Bt talong. Go Organic Mindanao (GOM) in its press statement said that UPMin and Dr. Eufemio Rasco should show proof that the eggplant seedlings which have already been planted in the former field trial site of the Bt talong are not a new batch of genetically modified eggplants from the Institute of Plant Breeding (IPB) in UP Los Banos. “It is not enough that we should take their word for it; because after all, these are the very same people who sought to circumvent local administrative processes in order to carry out the Bt talong field testing experiment. UP Mindanao should show proof that these are not genetically modified Bt eggplants. ”, the statement said. Last January 28, 2011, UPMin Chancellor Dr. Gilda C. Rivero had written Mayor Sarah Duterte informing her of the latest eggplant experiment which is being conducted by Dr. Eufemio Rasco. In the letter, she wrote that the latest experiment is a study on pest management of eggplant and assured the Mayor that the latest plantings do not involve the use of Bt eggplant. “The general objective (of the experiment) is to determine the relative effectiveness of non-BT control measures”, she wrote. “The results will also serve as benchmark information for evaluation the severity of the pest problem in Davao City”. Her letter also asked for the Mayor’s endorsement of the project to the City Agriculturist Office as well to the NGOs who are against the Bt talong field testing. But GOM members are not convinced. “How are we to know that what they are telling us is the truth? Last week , they told us that the Bt talong field testing is funded by the University but when copies of the contract came out, we found out that the contract was signed by private entities and not the University itself. Now they are telling us that this new batch is not Bt talong. Are we supposed to believe that at face value?”, asked Lia Esquillo, Executive Director of the Interface Development Interventions (IDIS) Local critics of the latest field experiments point out there were already numerous studies which have been conducted , no less by the Institute of Plant Breeding-UPLB itself. IDIS Research Head Ann Bolo revealed that the research of Dr. Merdelyn C. Lit of IPB has provided important data on the resistance of hundreds of eggplant genotypes and their wild relatives against leafhopper and shoot/fruit borer. “Dr. Lit’s research had also resulted in the development of efficient field and greenhouse techniques for Host Plant resistance screening of the varieties, so what does Dr. Rasco seek to prove with his research?”, she asked. “If by gauging the effectiveness of non-Bt control measures, they mean to reduce the pest population in the field without use of insecticides, then the Lit research studies are already a validation that one does not need Bt crops in order to achieve high production yield.”, she said. Bolo also added that she would be interested in finding out the project’s research design. “UPMin should also release a copy of the research design so that those who doubt the objectives of the experiment will have the chance to see for themselves”, she said. Meanwhile, GOM members called on the research proponents to include local farmers in the study. “If the goal of the study is to study organic and conventional methods in pest management, they should not ignore the indigenous farming knowledge that local farmers have in combating eggplant pests”, said Dennie Udtuhan, a community organizer for FARMCOOP. “ Farmers know what’s best for them since they have been doing it for all their lives”, she pointed out.
UPMin challenged: be upfront on the nature of Bt talong field testing
DAVAO CITY – Organic groups in Davao challenged the University of the Philippines in Mindanao (UPMin) to be transparent on the true nature of the genetically modified Bt eggplant field testing. Previous statements prepared by UP Mindanao officials on the nature of experimental trials are now cast in doubt as copies of the contract have recently surfaced , revealing contractual obligations that run contrary to their official statements. During last week’s hearing of the City Council Committee on Agriculture, UPMin Chancellor Gilda Rivero said that the Bt talong project is a public research which is funded by taxpayers money. But based on the contract obtained by organic groups, UP Mindanao is not party to the agreement made with the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications ( ISAAA), which made the Bt talong project feasible. Opponents of the field trial testing have managed to get hold of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the ISAAA and the University of the Philippines Los Banos Foundation, Inc (UPLBFI) and the University of the Philippines Mindanao Foundation Inc. (UPMFI). Among the glaring revelations in the contract is that the agreement was signed between private entities, and not with the State University itself. The MOU lists the UPLBFI as a private corporation in Laguna while the UPMFI is a non-government organization based in Davao City. Dr. Cecilio Arboleda, UPLBFI Executive Director and Dr. Edmundo Prantilla, UPMFI President signed the MOU with Dr. Randy Hautea, ISAAA Global Coordinator. Go Organic Mindanao (GOM) member and IDIS Executive Director Lia Esquillo said that this shows who the real instigators of the project are. “ Why are Hautea and Rasco insisting that the Bt talong is the property of the University when the contract was signed between private entities and not the University itself?”, she asked. For GOM members, this is proof that the experiment is not being publicly funded but rather part of institutional arrangements between multinational corporations and research institutions. GOM members are also particularly concerned over a MOU provision which states that the ISAAA, other than provide funds and technical and admin assistance to the other parties, shall assume no other responsibility and incur no liability arising from the conduct of the field trials. “So this means that ISAAA can go scot-free if the Bt talong gene escapes into the local environment and gets consumed unknowingly ? “ , asked Esquillo. Last month , a new analysis on the results of the feeding study on Bt talong revealed that the genetically modified eggplant poses significant risks to health as it had caused inflammation, reproductive and liver damage on experimental rats. For Dr. Romeo Quijano, a prominent University of the Philippines medical toxicologist, this is enough reason why the Bt talong field testing must be stopped. Invoking the precautionary principle, he said “ There are now sufficient indications to show that this particular genetic modification of the eggplant will result to health related risks in humans . All the more reason, that the field testing must be stopped.” Dr. Quijano, who also teaches at the UP Manila College of Pharmacology and Toxicology, further said that, “With the precautionary principle, there is recognition that long-term health impacts of genetically modified crops are difficult to predict and often impossible to prove,”he said. “It puts the burden of proof of safety on the polluter, in which case, is Monsanto”, he emphasized. Organic farming advocates have been quick to point out that the Bt gene was sourced from the eggplant stock of the Maharashtra Hybrid Company (MAHYCO). MAHYCO is a known subsidiary of Monsanto, one of the world’s largest multinational agricultural corporation. The track record of Monsanto on its devious strategies to ensure monopoly on seed ownership has been well documented. Under the guise of doing research to increase crop productivity, it enters into agreement with academic institutions. But the results of these industry studies which are usually submitted to regulators are unpublished and typically kept secret because they claim that it is “confidential business information”. The MOU underscored this. In Section 1.3.8, the MOU obligates UPMFI not to disclose data info, findings and other incidents produced and borne during the field trial, hence fueling fears that if contamination occurs during the field testing, residents living near the testing site will never even know. “If the gene contaminates the local varieties , who will tell us that what we are already consuming are Bt eggplants?”, asked Dagohoy Magaway, a local organic farming advocate. “And if we get sick from eating these genetically modified eggplants, who will be made liable?”. Tom Villarin, Executive Director of SIMCAARD, a non-government organization focusing on farming issues and asset reform said that Hautea and Rasco should come clean on this issue. “Cut the crap. This is not just about raising crop productivity of eggplant farmers or ensuring food security for Filipinos”, he said. “The hidden agenda here is about multinational corporations trying to control our country’s food production. If they control seed production, they control the food supply. “, he stressed