Bangkok Post

March 15, 2000

Threat of Mass Rally Against GM Testing: Farmer Groups Say Scrap
Tests Right Now

A network of 35 farmer groups and non-governmental organisations has
threatened to stage a mass rally unless concerned agencies respond
positively to their call for a halt to the testing of genetically
modified plants. The network issued the threat in a statement
submitted to the Agriculture and Co-operatives Ministry, seeking to
know the result of an investigation into the reported spread of
genetically modified cotton, or Bt cotton, from trial fields to open
farms. It also wanted the ministry to clarify reports that the
Agriculture Department had sent seeds of jasmine rice and other crops
to be genetically modified in the United States in 1997, and then
planted them in field trial.

It wanted a halt to the trial. Veeraphol Sopha, an adviser to the
Forum of the Poor, submitted the demand to Somsak Singholka, deputy
permanent secretary for agriculture. Mr Somsak maintained the
ministry had stopped the testing of GM jasmine rice since 1998 and
had no plans to continue it. The testing was initiated because the
government wished to solve the problem of diseases with rice crops
and genetic modification was one option, he said. In its statement,
the farmers' network said the ministry had allowed the import of
genetically modified seeds to be tested in the country since 1995.
All Bt plants had to be burnt for biosafety reasons after the
experiment ended. However, it was found that Bt cotton had been
planted on some farms. The network demanded the ministry immediately
stop testing GM seeds until there were water-tight biosafety
measures.

Copyright 2000 FT Asia Intelligence Wire All Rights Reserved
Copyright 2000 Bangkok Post