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"IRRI HAS BETRAYED US"
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Masipag News & Views
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Nov 28, 2001 18:43 PST
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Jasmine Rice and the patenting of Asia's Rice Bowl
"IRRI HAS BETRAYED US"
PRESS STATEMENT
29 November 2001
MASIPAG
The International Rice Research Institute has made itself safe keeper of
the world’s rice genetic resources. Collected from the farmers fields,
it stores in its gene bank 86,000 rice strains.
Without a choice, we have "entrusted" with the institute our seeds --
our heritage. IRRI has betrayed us.
The controversy surrounding the improper distribution of Thailand’s
Jasmine rice has once again put into question the integrity of IRRI.
Released through the institute’s backdoor, American scientist Neil
Rutger got the parent seeds of Jasmine from IRRI without the required
Material Transfer Agreement (MTA). Rutger eventually gave them to
American breeder Dr. Chris Deren.
Under its 1994 trusteeship obligations to FAO, IRRI committed to
regulate the distribution of rice
samples from its genebank based on an MTA that prohibits the recipient
- and third parties - from taking out Intellectual Property Rights
(IPR).
Now, through the modern biotechnology, Dr. Deren has been transforming
Jasmine rice to produce strains that will be grown commercially in the
U.S. – a move that will hurt Thailand’s export economy.
Thailand has been exporting 300,000 to 400,000 tonnes of rice annually
to the U.S. Of which, 75% is Jasmine.
And with the U.S patent law allowing even a slight modification to call
an "invention" and therefore subject to patenting, there is no guarantee
no one will eventually lay claim of ownership over this genetic herigate
unselfishly and freely shared by the Thai people for generations.
This incident is a cause for alarm among Filipino farmers. Especially
that, it came amid cries of protests on the U.S. firm Rice Tec’s
existing patents on Pakistan and India’s Basmati rice variety.
The idea of claiming intellectual monopoly rights over rice, and life in
general, is strange for Filipinos and other Asian people. However, the
danger is imminent and real.
With the country’s accession into the global trading scheme under the
World Trade Organization, patenting of life forms, including rice, has
paved the way for private ownership by giant agrochemical firms over
genetic resources.
Until the late 1990’s, there are already some 160 biotech patents on
rice in the world. Most of them are held by transnational companies in
the U.S and Japan. The top 13 rice patent holders have just over half
the biotech patents covering Asia’s staple food.
Rice is more than just a food we find in our dining table. It is a
cereal that has become the cornerstone of our food system, our language,
our culture.
It is a collective heritage nurtured and developed by our farmers for
generations. And with their noble work, they did not lay claim of
ownership over this precious grain.
Note to the editor: Masipag or Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa
Pag-unlad ng Agrikultura is a network of farmers, NGOs and scientists
promoting organic and sustainable agriculture in the Philippines.
For further inquiries, call:
MS. MARIBETH BARIL
(049)536-5549
(049)536-6183
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