Philippine Rice Farmers Denounce Rice Institute : QC IMC

Filipino rice farmers in the province of Nueva Ecija staged a peaceful protest in front of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) on September 15, demanding the phase out of hybrid rice which the Institute is aggressively promoting and distributing.

"Hybrid rice promotes farmers dependency on chemical inputs that are harmful to human health and the environment" declared Danilo Ramos, Secretary General of Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (Philippine Peasant Movement), the biggest and most progressive peasant organisation in the country.

"Contrary to the claim of PhilRice that it serves the interest of farmers, it actually protects the interests of agrochemical transnational corporations (TNCs) because hybrid rice promotes heavy use of pesticides and commercial fertilizers", asserts Ramos. Rice farmers who attended the protest claim that a farmer needs up to 50 kilograms of pesticides per hectare of hybrid rice.

Nueva Ecija, about 260 kilometres north of Manila, is known as the rice bowl of the Philippines. Consequently, it has one of the largest number of users of chemical farm inputs, which is used to speed-up productivity, in the country. "Most Filipino farmers do not own their land and their dependency on chemical farm inputs result in perpetual indebtedness, deficit and extreme poverty," explains one farmer who used to grow hybrid rice but has reverted to conventional farming. Several farmers who participated in the protest have also shifted back to traditional varieties and practice ecological agriculture.

Farmers claim that hybrid rice displaces traditional rice varieties (TRVs), which are becoming endangered in the Philippines. With dependency on hybrid rice, monopoly and control of rice seeds by TNCs are inevitable. Farmers also fear that the entry of genetically modified rice in the country will further diminish TRVs.

Established in 1985, PhilRice is the national agency for planning, implementing and monitoring of all rice research and development (R&D) activities in the country, including the promotion of high-yielding varieties for different rice-growing areas. It is the local rice centre of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), which is also headquartered in the country. PhilRice is heavily criticised by farmers because it promotes the use of technologies that are hazardous to human health and the environment, and negatively impacts farmers in their right to practice safe and sustainable agriculture.

The protest action is part of the People’s Caravan leg in the Philippines. Farmers who staged the protest are part of the contingent travelling from the north of the country to Manila to meet with the farmers from the south. A series of protest actions are taking place all over the country and are expected to culminate on September 16 with a dialogue with officials from the Department of Agriculture to relay their concern regarding hybrid rice, the proliferation of genetically engineered crops and the impact of WTO on Filipino farmers.