The Department of Agriculture-Philippine Rice Research Institute (DA-PhilRice) has made another leap in the field of genetic engineering as “Golden Rice” is given permission to be cultivated on the vast farmlands of the Philippines.
A product of almost a decade of scientific persistence, Golden Rice is enriched with beta carotene — a nutrient convertible to vitamin A which gives the rice its “gold” appearance. In alliance with International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), DA-PhilRice’s Golden Rice will serve as a countermeasure against the prevalent Vitamin A Deficiency (VAD) that undermines the immune response, leading to early blindness among children.
Various agrarian organizations, however, loath Golden Rice’s future entry to the market through a joint obstructive call. Its mandate of combating malnutrition, regulation, and safety upon public consumption maintain to be pointers that entail further screening from its proponents.
When asked for his stand on the Golden Rice sponsorship by the DA-PhilRice, Dr. Charito “Chito” Medina from Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa Pag-unlad ng Agrikultura (MASIPAG) says that toxicity feeding tests are not undertaken. These tests involve Golden Rice’s immediate effects on the people but instead the proponents focus on the amount of Vitamin A acquired.
“Ang ginamit lang nila ay computer database comparison. Contentious ang sabihing safe ang Golden Rice dahil walang feeding tests na ginawa,” said Dr. Medina added.
In 2013, Kilusang Magbubukid ng Pilipinas (KMP) Deputy Secretary-General Willy Marbella joined his fellow farmers in an indignation protest against the trial domestication of Golden Rice in Pili, Camarines Sur as it was perceived to be a vessel of contaminants. The group proceeded to charge into the planting fields to uproot rice stalks.
In 2020, DA-PhilRice initiated a public comment drive on the proposed propagation of Golden Rice in consideration of the feedback and concerns that the masses might have. Despite this agenda, however, Neth Daño from Rice Watch Action Network, Inc. looks at DA-PhilRice in disbelief. Daño insists that Golden Rice evaluation reports have not been clearly disclosed to the public. Reviews regarding the effects of Golden Rice’s to a person’s health and to his or her socioeconomic statusremain missing.
Trinidad Domingo, a farmer identified as part of Pambansang Koalisyon ng Kababaihan sa Kanayunan (PKKK), suggests instead intensifying the campaigning for non-GMO alternatives; namely, carrots, squash, and spinach. All contain rich amounts of nutrients such as beta-carotene. This nutrient is known to improve one’s eye health, immune system, and skin condition.
“The commercial propagation of Golden Rice begs the question: Who owns the technology? GMOs (genetically modified organisms) such as Golden Rice are protected by intellectual property rights which puts our small farmers at the mercy of transnational corporations that own the technology,” Daño added.
Hence, the Golden Rice, despite its claimed benefits, is not a panacea for nutritional deficiencies. It also poses a threat against the impoverished by taking away the market for Filipinos’ food staple and putting it in the hands of the powerful few. Capitalists, likewise, will keep on exploiting farmlands. Meanwhile, harassment awaits our farmers as they resist and persist.
Last December 2020, law enforcers led by the Philippine National Police (PNP) Region 6 red-tagged and massacred 9 Tumandoks as alleged members of the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army (CPP-NPA). This cold-blooded killing was part of the anti-communist-terrorist operation of the administration.
“They were civilians and not armed combatants,” human rights group Panay Alliance Karapatan defended.
With rampant attacks of the Duterte regime against the peasantry, the agricultural industry will continue to face scarcity that starves children of the marginalized. Never disheartened, the flame that signifies their cry for justice, and right to territorial entitlement, adequate facilities, and financial aid burns even brighter, exposing wounds inflicted by their perpetrators.
Featured image courtesy of International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).
