In the article “Lobby Groups Hit for GMO Eggplant Issue” published in the Manila Bulletin website on August 5, 2010, DA Undersecretary Joel S. Rudinas “laughed off” the concerns of civil society groups about DA’s lack of transparency in releasing Bt eggplant.

To release Bt eggplant, even if only for field-testing is not a laughing matter but is a very serious concern that demands no less than the assiduous attention of the Department of Agriculture, the government agency that Undersecretary Joel S. Rudinas represents. That he lied when he said that DA has "already given their (sic) explanation to lobby groups" such as SEARICE, Greenpeace and the Third World Network displays his gross insensitivity to the grave risks that the GMO eggplant poses to the health and environment of the Filipino public.

SIGN PETITION HERE!

To Our Most Honorable Secretary Alcala,

CONGRATULATIONS ON YOUR APPOINTMENT AS THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE SECRETARY! We have great faith in your capabilities to hold the position, especially with your enduring commitment to organic farming. We are sure that with you at the helm, the country’s state of agriculture will finally experience an escalating development towards what the country, and the whole world really needs – SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE.

We recently learned about the Development and Commercialization of Philippine Fruit and Shoot Borer (FSB) Resistant Eggplants Containing MAHYCO Bt eggplant Event being tested in 1) Sta. Maria, Pangasinan; 2) UPLB, Bay, Laguna; 3) CSSAC, Pili, Camarines Sur; 4) Sta. Barbara, Iloilo; 5) VSU, Baybay, Leyte; 6) UP Mindanao Davao City; and 7) University of Southern Mindanao, Kabacan, North Cotabato .

According to an article published on June 28, 2010 issue of the Manila Bulletin, this FSBR eggplant will be the first public-sector genetically modified (GM)/biotech crop product in the country and the first GM/biotech food crop to be cultivated in the country by 2011. Field tests in the seven (7) sites cited above are pushed by Dr. Desiree Hautea, project leader of the FSBR project and is funded by the USAID.

WE URGE YOU TO STOP ALL THESE FIELD TRIALS AND THE EVENTUAL COMMERCIALIZATION OF THE FRUIT AND SHOOT BORER RESISTANT (FSBR) EGGPLANT DUE TO THE FOLLOWING REASONS:

1. No information. There is little or no information about this FSBR eggplant, which is also called Bt eggplant. Our calls for release of information about the Bt eggplant were met with silence by agencies under your supervision, such as the Bureau of Plant Industry. We believe that BPI, Dr. Hautea, the NCBP of which the DA is a member, have the obligation to release information on Bt eggplant because its study and eventual release will affect Filipino farmers and consumers. The farmers will need to know the risks in planting Bt eggplant and must not be treated as a mere market for Bt eggplant seeds. Moreover, the public has the right to know what food they consume, from where, and how they are produced.
2. No genuine public consultation. It is our conviction that there was very little transparency in the assessment and approval process done by the STRP and by BPI. Genuine public participation processes as enumerated in the National Biosafety Framework and the Local Government Code were not followed.
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The Southeast Asia Regional Initiatives for Community Empowerment (SEARICE) along with the Western Mindanao State University has sponsored a forum on 21 July 2010 at the WIMSU Gym to inform the public about the decision of the Philippine National Halal Board to  include a provision on the Philippine National Halal Standards (PNHS) on GMO foods indicating that these (along with cloned animals) are “not subject to certification”, citing in the annex the perspective on GMOs lifted from the Muslim Mindanao Halal Certification Board (MMHCB) Guidelines, which indicate that GMOs are to be considered as masbooh, neither halal nor haram but best to avoid.

"Contrary to what was published in the Sunstar on 20 July 2010, SEARICE has been and is always been critical of GMOs in food and agriculture" said, Jean Yasol, SEARICE campaigns officer.  Yasol added that safety issues regarding GMOs remain a gray area. There is no consensus yet among the scientific community with regards to safety of GMOs and its effects to public health. To date, contamination of GMOs to local seed supplies and to the environment remains one of the unresolved issues surrounding GMOs.  GMOs have been presented as a quick fix to various problems such as hunger and climate change".

At a side event to the Nairobi meeting of the scientific subcommittee of the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (SBSTTA 14), two "competing" approaches to agriculture at a time of climate change and decreasing biological diversity were discussed. The conventional approach, as exemplified by the genetic modification of crops, biofuel production and biochar, is touted as a solution to climate change, yet poses a serious threat to biodiversity and agriculture. On the other hand, farmers are building resilient communities, innovating, and heading off climate change in ways that enhance, rather than reduce agricultural biodiversity.

The side event, billed "GRAINS OF WISDOM AND FALSE SOLUTIONS: FARMER INNOVATIONS, AGRICULTURAL BIODIVERSITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE," was jointly organized by SEARICE, USC Canada, Development Fund, the Gaia Foundation, the African Biodiversity Network and Econexus on May 17. Helena Paul of Econexus facilitated the event.

SEARICE noted a clear trend among governments of promoting the cultivation of agrofuels as a strategy to mitigate climate change, while overlooking community based climate change adaptation strategies. SEARICE policy officer Edna Maguigad cited a number of of farmers’ adapation strategies, including the development of new seeds through selection, and changing their cropping systems. She emphasized that if national strategies to address climate change are to reflect the realities and needs of farmers and local communities,  a genuine consultative process is indispensable.

Faris Ahmed of USC Canada stressed the need to harmonize agricultural activities and the environment/ ecosystems, for the benefit particularly of the 1.5 billion people who depend on farm saved seeds. Faris defined resilience as consisting of three main concepts: knowledge and innovation; diversity of resources and approaches; and mutual reliance and trust. He illustrated these concepts with various experiences in agro-ecological approaches. In Burkina Faso, for example, farmers have regained non-productive land by collecting rain water in moon-shaped landscapes.