HYBRID RICE FIT FOR ANIMALS SAYS ASIAN STUDY

09 September 2001

Hybrid rice has a poor taste, making it a good candidate for animal feeds in China...

HYBRID RICE FIT FOR ANIMALS, SAYS ASIAN STUDY Inquirer News Service LOS BANOS, Laguna -- Hybrid rice has a poor taste, making it a good candidate for animal feeds in China where the variety was first developed, a collaborative study of civil society groups in Asia said. It ís ridiculous to claim that the hybrid tastes better than our native varieties, said Cris Panerio of the Los Banos-based Magsasaka at Siyentipiko para sa Pag-unlad ng Agrikultura (Masipag). The crop was produced from a rice variety considered in China as the lowest quality crop, making consumers despise the hybrid taste, the study continued. In fact, much of the crop is purchased by the state (People's Republic of China) and a large part of the harvest is used in state programs to feed the urban poor, stored in the country's rice stocks, or used as animal feeds, according to the research paper "Hybrid Rice in Asia: An Unfolding Threat". Many of our traditional rice varieties have good quality, incomparable to substandard hybrid rice, said Panerio. But the most glaring drawback of the hybrid rice is that it is simply not intended for small-scale farmers. Dr. S.S. Virmani, head of the hybrid rice program of the International Rice Research Institute admitted that this technology is not for farmers still struggling at the level of two or three tons. The cost of hybrid seed, being 10 to 15 times higher than that of ordinary seeds of rice, discourages poor farmers from taking advantage of the hybrid technology, said IRRI in another document. It will only exacerbate problems of distribution and poverty by favoring wealthy farmers, said the study. Also, this variety loses its hybrid vigor after one planting season, putting a stop to farmer's traditional practice of saving and exchanging seeds. So, the biggest beneficiary of this technology would be the agrochemical companies involved in the hybrid rice seed industry in Asia. As intellectual property regimes allow companies to charge an additional 10 percent to 30 percent over the cost of the seed, in the form of royalties or license payments, the income opportunities for the industry are attractive indeed, according to the March 2000 study of six civil society groups in the Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Bangladesh. The real motivation behind the development of hybrid rice is to create a rice-seed industry as a motor for the deeper industrialization of rice farming, it added. Three hybrid rice varieties have already been released in the Philippines: two from the Philippine Rice Research Institute and one from Monsanto's Agroseed, said the Asian study. In 1997, hybrid rice was planted in around 500 hectares in the country and the area was estimated to increase to 100,000 hectares in 2000. "Hybrid Rice in Asia: An Unfolding Threat" was researched by Devlin Kuyek for Biothai (Thailand), GRAIN, KMP (Philippines), Masipag, PAN Indonesia, Philippine Greens and UBINIG (Bangladesh). Drs. Romeo Quijano (University of the Philippines Manila, College of Medicine) and Oscar Zamora (University of the Philippines Los Banos, College of Agriculture) participated in their individual capacities. MASIPAG 3346 Rhoda Subd. Los BaŇos, Laguna PHILIPPINES 4030 Tel: (63-49)536-6183 Telefax: (63-49)536-5549 Email: masipag@mozcom.com

Classification

Subject  Sustainable Agriculture
Regional relation  Philippines
Audience  Government and Policy Makers - NGOs - Teachers and Educators