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CA moratorium on GM products can cause ripple effect in value chain; massive wave of price hikes for meat, fish – PSIA
The Philippine Seed Industry Association (PSIA) has Executive Director Gabriel Romero questioned the double standard set by the Court of Appeals decision to impose a moratorium on the direct use, commercial propagation, and importation and of genetically engineered products, citing dire consequences to the value chain if the ruling is not reversed quickly.
Dr. Gabriel Romero, the PSIA Executive Director, cited that unknown to many, the CA decision also called for a cease on all ongoing research for biotech products at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), University of the Philippines Los Banos, and PhilRice which are crucial to the country’s bid for food security. According to the PSIA head, the moratorium is a setback for farmers who have found hope for increased production and a more resilient alternative in BT eggplant, which, according to research, is resistant against pests and the adverse impact of climate change. Golden rice on the other hand, would have been a good solution to malnutrition and Vitamin A deficiency among Filipinos. Romero added that the decision deprived the Filipino people of the safe benefits of biotechnology on agriculture gleaned from years of research and experimentation. “Tapos hindi lang pala sila tumigil sa Bt eggplant at golden rice. Ipinahinto rin nila yungresearch ng ibang biotech products na ginagawa ng ating mga researcher sa mgapamantasan at saka sa mga research institution like IRRI, UPLB. Philrice marami payang research. (They did not stop at the moratorium in Bt eggplant and Golden Rice, they also ordered stopping the research of biotech products being conducted by researchers at the IRRI, UPLB, PhilRice and all other researches),” he said. Even worse, the decision also put a stop to the importation of GMO products which will adversely affect the feed industry since 70% of feed ingredients for livestock – poultry, ho raisers and even fisheries are from GMO soy and GMO corn. While there are locally produced GMO corn seeds, the country still relies on imports for most of the supply. Romero explained that if the local supply to produce feeds is not enough, this might also impact the price of feeds in the market and subsequently impact the price of pork, chicken, and even cultured fish in the local markets. “So ang laki ng impact n’yan hindi lang sa BT eggplant, hindi langsa golden rice pati yung value chain sa livestock industry. Ang alam ko nga pati sa foodindustry, malaki rin ang iniimport ng mga ingredients ng galing sa GMO corn , mgacornstarch , saka mga GMO na soy , kasi ang soy din ay malaki rin ang bahagi naginagamit na ingredients sa food industry. So ang laki ng impact nito kayadapat ma-reverse agad ang CA ruling na ito , sa lalong medaling panahon . (This will have a huge impact not just on BT eggplant, golden rice. It will also affect the value chain for the livestock industry and for the food industry because we also import ingredients from GMO corn such as cornstarch and GMO soy. This is why this ruling needs to be reversed as soon as possible,” he said. |
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