Agence France Presse
BANGKOK, Sept 12 (AFP) - Some 400 rice farmers from the northeast protested against the introduction of genetically-modified (GM) crops to Thailand, reports said Tuesday.
The demonstrators from Thung Kula Ronghai area -- an area known for Thailand's famed jasmine rice -- said they were worried only multinational companies which supplied GM seeds would reap the benefit of the introduction, the Nation daily said.
"I just learned about GM rice today and am not sure exactly what it is. But it does frighten me," the daily quoted rice farmer Wichean Janthoona as saying.
Farmers feared GM crops would reduce biodiversity by phasing out the use of local varieties, the paper said.
Farmer Boonsri Somphongphung said farmers would not benefit from the introduction of GM crops.
"In the case of the 'jasmati rice' for which the US company RiceTec has a patent, it is obvious the company wants to confuse our jasmine rice consumers. In fact, jasmati rice is not at all related to jasmine rice," the daily quoted him as saying.
Thai farmers and the public are concerned about GM crops because there is still a lack of in-depth research on the effects of genetic modification on plants, the Consumers Association of Thailand said Tuesday.
"The health and environmental risks remain unknown," a spokeswoman for the Consumers Association told AFP.
"Long-term studies have not been done at all, not even in other countries -- that's the most frightening part," she said.
"It is the company's trick. GM rice and other GM crops will be similar to this case. Farmers will be left behind."
Thailand at present allows research on GM plants but has not given permission for the cultivation of commercial GM crops.
Genetic modification entails inserting a gene into plants with the aim of making them resistant to pests or herbicides, thus giving a theoretical cost advantage to farmers, who need less insecticide or only have to spray a field once to eliminate weeds.
Environmentalists, however, say not enough is known about the long-term effects of gene engineering.
They fear modified material could enter the food chain, create "superweeds" or diseases through the process of natural selection or devastate vulnerable species.
