Deal on transgenic cotton seeds delayed

Deal on transgenic cotton seeds delayed

JAKARTA (JP): Strong public pressure and concern over
transgenic products have caused a postponement of an agreement
between the government and American-based agrochemical and seed
company Monsanto on the development of cotton seeds in South
Sulawesi.

State Minister of Environment Sonny Keraf on Tuesday admitted
that his personal disapproval, along with pressure from
nongovenrmental organizations, resulted in Coordinating Minister
for the Economy Rizal Ramli postponing, at the last minute, the
agreement which was due to be signed Friday.

"At the last second NGOs and I put pressure on Rizal Ramli to
call it off," Sonny told reporters here on Tuesday.

He explained that health safety of transgenic crops and their
effect on the environment was still a major concern and thus it
would be advisable for agreements on the cultivation of such
crops to be postponed.

"Besides, Indonesia is among the countries that signed the
Cartagena Protocol on biosafety...We have to stick with the
precautionary principles over transgenic matters," Sony said,
adding that there are still no regulations on transgenic products
here.

According to Sonny, Rizal initially objected, arguing that the
negotiations were already in the final stages.

"But I told him that it is better to call off the deal than to
face problems in the future," Sonny said.

Transgenic technology creates higher quality crops and stocks
by inserting genes from other species.

These Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) or biologically
engineered products have genes inserted to protect the plant from
pests or to resist a specific herbicide.

Despite assurances from scientists that the products are
harmless, some doubts have been raised as to the safety of GMOs
and their effect on health and the environment.

These concerns include how quickly a biotech plants degrade in
the soil and whether the plants can cross-pollinate with weeds or
disrupt the ecosystem.

But Monsanto's subsidiary, PT. Monagro Kimia, have been
providing farmers in Bantaeng and Bulukumba regencies, South
Sulawesi, with transgenic cotton seeds for the past five months.

The transgenic crops are now being harvested after it was
planted in a 500-hectare area.

The products are exported and some are distributed in local
markets.

"This is also against procedure...The distribution of certain
agricultural products has to go through an Environmental Impact
Assessment (Amdal)," Sonny told reporters later in his office,
referring to Government regulation No. 51/1994 and No. 27/1999.

Therefore, he added, he will send a warning letter to Monagro
to stop production.

But Monagro's Corporate Communications Manager Tri Soekirman,
maintains that the company had already obtained permission
earlier this year from the research and development department of
then ministry of forestry and plantation.

As for the suspended agreement, Tri said it was merely a
statement of cooperation which reconfirmed Monsanto's activities
in Indonesia, producing seeds and herbicides.

"So, the delay doesn't really effect us," she told The Jakarta
Post over the telephone, adding that the cotton harvest will now
be exported.

About the Amdal, Tri said that as far as the company is
concerned, the environmental assessment are for plantations above
1,000 hectares.

"We'll still continue with our activities and still follow
procedures," she said.

Earlier, some South Sulawesi farmers who were brought to
Jakarta, claimed that they were very satisfied with the yield of
transgenically modified Bt cotton or Bollgard cotton.

"It really benefits us. The yield is high so we earn more
money and are able to repay bank loans faster," said farmer M.
Arsyad.

The cotton was said to have a yield of two to three tons per
hectare compared to local cotton which has a yield of only 401
kilograms per hectare.

Ironically Indonesia has a great need for cotton. Demand for
cotton seeds reaches 1.5 million tons or an equivalent of 500,000
tons of cotton fibers annually

Almost all are imported as domestic supply represents only one
percent of the total need. (09)