GE News - Philippines  

PHILIPPINES-AGRICULTURE: Hi-Tech Seeds Yield Mainly High Costs By Luz Rimban
BANGA, Philippines, Feb 4 (IPS) - Two years ago, the majority of the 6,000 corn farmers in this southern Philippine agricultural town found their fields ravaged by a disease called 'stalk rot'.

Much of the yellow corn they harvested was damaged: The cobs had only a few kernels and the yield fell far below expectations.

The culprit, they say, was the product of modern agricultural technology -- hybrid seeds developed by the U.S. multinational Cargill and given free to them by the agriculture department, which promised farmers they could double their yield.

The yellow corn seeds were part of a five-year, 75 billion peso (2.8 billion dollar) programme designed to make the Philippines self-sufficient in grain.

''Farmers thought they would benefit because the seeds were given to them free,'' said Violeta Ilomen, an agricultural technician who plants corn on a 1.5-hectare plot of land in Rangay village, Banga.

Most of Banga's farmers consider the seeds, and the government programme, a failure. ''I would rather spend 1,300 pesos (50 dollars) to buy my own bag of seeds than get the free seeds from the government,'' said farmer Violeta Ladines.

[**] The seeds were of a hybrid variety requiring large amounts of costly fertilisers and pesticides.

PD NOTE: Using the sales model of - Give away the razors, pay for the blades.  They probably also get "credit" for a "humanitarian" donation!!

Developed by Cargill, which is the largest privately-owned multinational firm of its type in the United States, the seeds were bought under the Philippines' Grains Production Enhancement Programme -- a package of infrastructure, credit and agricultural subsidies given to farmers as an incentive to raise productivity by using high-yield, hybrid seed varieties.

Cargill muscled its way into the Philippine corn seed market by cornering the grains production programme contract with the aid of Ayala Corporation, one of the largest local conglomerates.

But Cargill's seeds produced plants that could not thrive in the region's wet climate, and were susceptible to diseases.

Activists say that what happened in South Cotabato, the country's biggest corn-producing province, exposes how substantial government subsidies for agriculture can benefit big agribusiness firms to the detriment of farmers and consumers.

''Cargill is here to take command of a strategic sector of the economy and it does that by trying to win over and get the seed market,'' said Francisco Lara, executive director of the NGO Management and Organisational Development for Empowerment, which studies agricultural policy.

Critics say that the grains enhancement scheme dramatises the dilemma of Philippine agricultural policy: raising productivity by using high-yield, hybrid seed varieties. But the seeds and fertilisers and pesticides that go with them are produced by giant multinationals. Increasing productivity in this manner thus also entails increasing dependence on multinationals.

Moreover these imported inputs also raise farmers' production costs and prices, making it cheaper for owners of poultry and livestock farms to import yellow corn -- again from multinationals like Cargill.

Cargill is considered the world's largest grains trader, operating in at least 65 countries. Its diverse business empire ranges from corn to oilseed, malt, flour, wheat, cattle, beef and chicken. Its products go into the world's most famous food brands: corn syrup in softdrinks, sweeteners in chocolate bars, beef and chicken for the biggest fast-food chains.

The Philippines is relatively uncharted territory, but a potentially big market for Cargill. As the population grows and Filipino diets change, farmers have been urged by the government to shift to planting yellow corn, which is in demand as feed for livestock and poultry. The fastfood culture and the growing popularity of processed meats are fueling this demand.

It is this market that Cargill hoped to capture when, in 1992, it forged a partnership with the Ayala subsidiary Ayala Agricultural Development Corporation (AADC). Cargill develops and breeds the seeds that are then produced and marketed by AADC.

In 1994, Ayala-Cargill won a 73-million peso (2.8 million dollar) contract to supply farmers with hybrid seeds for yellow corn under the second phase of the government's grains enhancement programme. With the contract, Cargill was able to put its foot in the door of the Philippines' agricultural market.