2-Plants: Thai farmers protest against GM rice

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TITLE:  Northeast farmers protest aagainst GM rice
SOURCE: The Nation, Bangkok, Thailand, by Pennapa Hongthong
DATE:   September 12, 2000

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Northeast farmers protest aagainst GM rice


ROI ET - Northeastern jasmine rice farmers have joined the campaign against 
genetically-modified (GM) rice. Some 400 villagers from five provinces in 
the Thung Kula Ronghai area - the driest area, which is best for growing 
Thailand's well-known jasmine rice - yesterday gathered at Muang Roi Et 
municipality to participate in the "Asian Long March for Biodiversity". The 
villagers came from Roi Et, Yasothon, Si Sa Ket, Maha Sarakham and Surin.

The farmers said they were very worried the introduction of GM crops into 
Thailand would have a serious impact on the poor majority countrywide. They 
said the GM crop trend could essentially force them to buy seeds instead of 
reproducing them themselves, adding that local seeds could be phased out 
and eventually become extinct.

The march is the first anti-GM-crop caravan to take place in Thailand. It 
was organised by the Thai Network on Community Rights and Biodiversity 
(BioThai) together with Asian environmentalists and activists. The caravan 
began in Bangkok on September 6 and went to Songkhla and Phetchaburi before 
arriving in Roi Et yesterday. In Roi Et, the caravan proceeded from the 
municipality through the business centre, community areas and local market. 
Along the way it received a warm welcome from local people and attracted 
marchers.

The major focus of the campaign is GM rice and its impacts. Most of the 
farmers' fears stem from the Agriculture Ministry's research and 
development of a GM rice called 'BB rice', which is genetically modified to 
contain a bacteria gene to make it resistant to bacterial blight. A sample 
of BB rice is now growing in the ministry's research centre in Pathum 
Thani. "I just learned about GM rice today and am not sure exactly what it 
is. But it does frighten me," said Wichean Janthoona, a rice farmer from 
Suwannaphum district in Roi Et. "We will no longer be able to keep our 
seeds for the next crop. This is terrible. We are already hardly surviving 
now, even when we don't need to pay for seeds," he said.

Boonsri Somphongphung, a farmer from the Kaset Wisai district of Roi Et, 
said he had been hearing about GM rice. He said he believed multinational 
corporations would gain most of the benefit from GM crop development and 
farmers would suffer the most. "In the case of the 'jasmati rice' for which 
the US company RiceTec has a patent, it is obvious the company wants to 
confuse our jasmine-rice consumers. In fact, jasmati rice is not at all 
related to jasmine rice. It is the company's trick. GM rice and other GM 
crops will be similar to this case. Farmers will be left behind," he said.

The caravan also arranged a meeting for local farmers and farmers from 
India, Cambodia and the Philippines to share their experiences on GM-crop 
opposition. The Cambodian farmers have focused on biodiversity conservation 
measures in their country while Filipino farmers stress natural breeding 
and the protection of their local grains. An Indian farmer shared his 
experiences fighting the RiceTec corporation, which patented the local 
basmati rice species two years ago. The caravan during the campaign also 
burnt an effigy of a rice grain the size of a pick-up truck to show their 
opposition to genetic crop modification.

M K Kailashmurthy, an Indian farmer who joined the caravan, said he is very 
happy to see the local movement against GM crops. "It is the first step 
toward a growing movement, like in India where a big movement stemmed from 
a small group of farmers," he said.

BioThai's organiser Witoon Lianchamroon said he did not expect to 
accomplish much except for farmers to learn more about the issue, which 
would affect their lives sooner or later. "It may finally make them realise 
how important it is to conserve the local diversity of grains and other 
crops," he said.

The caravan headed to Maha Sarakham province yesterday evening and planned 
to go to Loei province, which last year saw the illegal spread of GM 
cotton. After that, the caravan will head to Chiang Mai and finish its 11-
day trip there. Before leaving Roi Et, farmers from other provinces 
exchanged their rice grain with that of local farmers. The southern farmers 
gave Roi Et farmers local rice species such as khao lep nok, khao khai 
modlin and khao sang yod, and the Roi Et farmers gave them jasmine rice. 
"It is symbolic for future cooperation among farmers to preserve their 
local grains," Witoon said.



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