BISAD Supports the Hunger Strike of Boy Ancog against GMOs at the ABDC10 in Guadalajara, Mexico
The Bohol Initiators for Sustainable Agriculture and Development (BISAD) is a multi-sectoral provincial network composed of farmers’ groups, NGOs, consumers, local government offices, and business enterprises that promotes the development and spread of organic agriculture in the province of Bohol, The Philippines. BISAD was a key player in making Bohol the first GMO-free province in the Philippines way back in 2003 when the Provincial Government passed a legislation prohibiting the entry of GMOs into the province for health and environmental reasons, and to protect Bohol’s biodiversity.
On the occasion of conference on Agricultural Biotechnologies in Developing Countries (ABDC10) organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Guadalajara, Mexico, BISAD expresses its support to fellow Boholano, Isidore “Boy” Ancog, who represents the Asian Farmers’ Alliance (AFA) and is currently staging a hunger strike at the conference venue in protest of the possible endorsement by the Conference and the FAO of GMOs for use by farmers in food and agriculture production. Like Boy, we do not believe that GMOs will solve the problems of low agricultural productivity, low rural incomes and widespread hunger across the world, especially in developing countries. Instead, we believe that GMOs exacerbate these problems by, among others, increasing agro-chemical use among farmers (through herbicide tolerant GMO crops), aggravating insect pest immunity (through pest resistance GMOs), upsetting natural flow and evolution of biodiversity (through GMO contamination) undermining and threatening farmers’ use of seeds (through application of intellectual property rights by corporations on GM crops), etc.
GMOs are not the answer to the problems related to productivity and incomes among farmers, and to the availability of food for the rest of the world. We in BISAD are committed to promoting organic and GMO-free agriculture in Bohol and wherever we are able to make our advocacies heard. We have started a journey towards a more sustainable and balance state of the environment and towards ensuring a healthy and productive future for our children and our children’s children. We cannot allow GMOs to destroy this dream..
In his hunger strike, Boy Ancog is making the voices of unheard farmers be heard at the FAO. He is making unseen farmers be seen at highest levels of policy discussions. All the way to Guadalajara, Mexico, in the birthplace of maize, Boy Ancog is helping farmers make that journey towards a greener and sustainable future for all free from GMOs.
We support the hunger strike of Boy Ancog.
We say NO to GMOs!
Signed::
Eulalie Albuladora
President, BISAD
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