DAVAO CITY, Philippines – Farmers’ network MASIPAG warned that the approval to propagate a genetically modified rice enriched with iron and zinc (HIZ039) could pose serious health and environmental risks, citing weak biosafety safeguards and potential threats to agrobiodiversity and farmers’ livelihoods.
MASIPAG, a network of farmers, scientists, and non-government organizations (NGOs), said the country’s biosafety regulatory system still suffers from major deficiencies, including weak risk assessment, inadequate monitoring, and insufficient safeguards for genetically modified organisms (GMOs).
Supreme Court rulings in cases involving Golden Rice and Bt eggplant exposed flaws in Joint Department Circular No.1, Series of 2021, yet HIZ039 was approved for propagation despite those judicial findings.
The group called for an immediate suspension of the rice’s propagation, full public disclosure of biosafety documents, and a review and strengthening of existing policies before any new GMO is released.
Kenneth Cagula, MASIPAG’s Mindanao advocacy officer, told Davao Today on June 18 that GMOs like HIZ039 could pose risks to agrobiodiversity and human health, while also increasing farmers’ expenses due to reliance on synthetic inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides.
“Instead na paramihin yung mga traditional mga binhi natin, mapapalitan ito ng mga genetically modified crops… na pagmamay?ari ng mga korporasyon,” Cagula said, cautioning that this could trap smallholder farmers in cycles of debt.
(Instead of multiplying our traditional seeds, they will be replaced by genetically modified crops genetically modified crops owned by corporations.)
MASIPAG argued that the nutritional problems HIZ039 aims to address stem from structural issues like poverty, rising commodity prices, and declining real wages. These problems should be solved through socioeconomic measures rather than “techno-fixes.”
“What is needed is a fundamental transformation toward more sustainable, agroecological food systems that protect farmers’ rights to seeds, land, and knowledge,” he said.
According to the public information sheet on the Philippine Rice and Research Institute (PhilRice) website, HIZ039 was produced through recombinant-DNA techniques using Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation of immature rice embryos.
It is the world’s first genetically modified rice variety approved for commercial propagation. The PhilRice and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) developed the HIZ039.
The information sheet says the Philippines is both the country of origin and the intended cultivation site for the rice, and that HIZ039 varieties will not be imported.
The document specifies that HIZ039 is intended to supply up to 30% to 50% of the estimated iron and zinc requirements of preschool children and pregnant or lactating mothers.- Omerahh H. Usman / Mindanao State University Marawi Intern (davaotoday.com)
