Poultry, hog raisers unite vs anti-GMO Ordinance
BACOLOD CITY – The Department of Agriculture (DA) has said that the Anti-GMO Ordinance of the Provincial Board of Negros Occidental is against the national policy.
Mr. Albert Lim, President of the Negros Occidental Commercial Hog Raisers Association, disclosed this over the weekend.
He said, a DA official said this during the Bio-Technology conference held in Manila recently.
He added the DA said there's nothing wrong about the Genetically Modified Organism (GMO).
They are willing to come to the province to shed light on the matter but upon invitation.
Lim also said they found out that Negros Oriental has no Anti-GMO ordinance despite the Memorandum of Agreement forged with the Province of Negros Occidental making Negros Island the "Organic Bowl of Asia."
During the incumbency of the late Governor Joseph G. Marañon and then Negros Oriental Governor George Arnaiz, the Negros Island bidded for the hosting of the International Conference on Organic which will be held in 2011.
However, they lost in the bid.
Reports have it that the Anti-GMO Ordinance was only passed in 2007 as a compliance to a requirement for the bidding.
Lim said they were not in attendance during the conduct of the public hearing.
He said they were partners of the Provincial Government of making the Livestock industry next to sugar.
"How come they did not know we're existing? No notice was given to us in relation to the public hearing. If there was a notice, we have not received it. If they have the minutes of the public hearing, we will know who attended," he said.
They hope that during the review of the Ordinance 007, (Anti-GMO ordinance), the Provincial Board will invite them and they are interested to come.
There are 400,000 pigs in Negros Occidental with daily consumption of 900 tons of corn.
Seventy percent are backyard raisers and 30-percent commercial raisers.
Many are badly affected with this Ordinance as they are incurring P1.8 million a day of additional cost because of the banning of GMO corn.
They believed that Negros Occidental has never been a producer of corn. "If there's enough corn in the province, we will buy from here," Mr. Rosendo "Rey" dela Rama, President of the Alliance of Hog Raisers of Negros Occidental, said.
Mr. Manuel Puey, President of Negros Occidental Poultry Association, a former Congressman of the 2nd District of Negros Occidental, said one of their apprehensions is the possible backing out of two major corn integrators in the province because of this total ban of GMO corn,
If that happens, the cost of feeds will certainly increase.
"And we will also expect a sure increase in the cost of chicken in the province," he said.
At present, the price of corn is higher from P1.50 to P2.00 per kilo compared to the price of corn in Iloilo and other provinces, dela Rama said.
There are 1,700 backyard raisers in the province and the ban on corn is hurting both the commercial and backyard raisers.
They said they are not against organic farming but it seems that "we're going back behind the modern times. Why force everybody to go organic when we have other options?”
They have appealed to the Provincial Government to impose a moratorium on this ban as soon as possible.
"We're very strict on GMO but if this industry will collapse, we will still buy pigs and chickens from outside that are still GMO," dela Rama said.
Lim said, "We don't need this Ordinance. There's a song that could relate to this Anti-GMO Ordinance and it's entitled: Bakit ngayon kalang? (Why only now?)"
The Provincial Veterinary Office even distributes genetically enhanced pigs and feeds to backyard hog raisers in its Animal Dispersal program and these are GMOs, dela Rama said.
And the testing kit for GMO corn by the province is being held by one person.