This came from WTO Watch. It is insidious what is being done to subject the whole world. The sponsors for this one are Cornell University and USAID and they're doing it in The Philippines. It shocks me that this campaign to contaminate local seed stocks with patented seed is being carried on by a prestigious university and a government agency whose purpose is famine relief.
If only such funding could be channeled to develop open pollinated organic seed stock which is not patented and which could really help human spiritual and physical development. There should be a non-profit international organic seed organization that helps these countries develop their own plant breeding from their local seeds. It wouldn't have to be large or prestigious. Oh, for someone courageous who is called to do this work who would help people to understand! Research center to develop GM crops for commercialization in RP BusinessWorld (Philippines) By Leilani M. Gallardo December 03, 2002 08:40 AM A research center that will develop new varieties of genetically modified (GM) crops for commercialization is expected to be set up in the Philippines next year under the auspices of New York-based Cornell University and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Dubbed the Agricultural Biotechnology Support Project II (ABSP II), the program will focus on the safe and effective development and commercialization of GM crops as a complement to traditional and organic agricultural approaches in developing countries. We hope to work on the project within five years and then have the crops commercialized after that. We hope that we could build up on existing resources and help in getting these products to the end consumer, said Peter Gregory, ABSP II director and head of Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences' International Programs. The project aims to boost food security, economic growth, nutrition and environmental quality in hosts such as East and West Africa, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh and the Philippines through the adoption of GM crops. A GM, or transgenic, crop is a plant that contains a gene, or genes, that has been artificially inserted to create a desired trait. Funded by a $15-million grant from USAID and led by Cornell University, ABSP II will be implemented by a consortium of public and private sector institutions. The consortium, which will vary from each host country, is expected to develop new biotech products which will eventually be commercialized. To ensure the successful commercialization of the new GM crops, ABSP II aims to conduct highly participatory priority setting to ensure that the new biotechnology products developed by the centers will focus on the real needs of the host country. It will also produce Product Commercialization Packages for each new GM crop to make sure that the product gets to the market after it is developed. The package will include policy considerations, technology development, outreach and communication as well as marketing and distribution. By doing this, all issue surrounding the commercialization of a GM crop will be addressed. Aside from this, ABSP II also aims to help create an enabling regulatory environment in the host country so that the GM products can be commercialized legally. We don't want to move too fast before regulatory functions are in place, Mr. Gregory said. Mr. Gregory said ABSP II officials are still in the process of choosing which counterpart agencies in the Philippines they will choose for the consortium that will oversee the center. Among those that are being considered include the University of the Philippines in Los Banos and the Philippine-based International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications.
