NGO says govt approval on transgenics hurts farmers, environment

The Jakarta Post, Jakarta, Thu, 10/20/2011

An NGO has criticized the Agriculture Minister's regulation No. 61/2011, which would allow transgenic seeds companies to conduct business, as it could harm greater interests.

“It is obvious that the government is ignorant to the fact that transgenic products can cause potential damage from an environmental, socioeconomic and health perspective,” the Alliance for Prosperous Villages' national coordinator, Tejo Wahyu Jatmiko, told a press conference on Thursday.

He then cited similar projects that were tested around 10 years ago, in the form of a cotton transgenic seed plantation in Bulukumba, South Sulawesi, and a joint project between the ministry and US agriculture giant Monsanto, but both were big failures.

“This policy won’t aid farmers; it will only profit big companies,” he said. 

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