Call Prefix : PR-M

Call Suffix : 2000

Call Cutter : BIC593

Location : SEARCA Library

Format : Printed

Publication Date : March 2000

Summary : Conclusion: The stubborn equation of hybrid rice with progress must be questioned. First, the technology has demonstrated minimal impact to improve yields. Significant increases in yield are rare, if not site-specific; there are no cost-effective methods for seed production; and studies show that hybrids require more pesticides because they are more susceptible to disease and pests. The technology is also severely limited by the fact that it is impractical for most tropical countries in Asia. Yet, IRRI, multilateral agencies and public research institutions throughout the region continue to devote substantial amounts of money and time towards the development of hybrid rice. Fundamentally, the decision to pursue hybrid technology is entirely political one. No matter how secluded the laboratory where the technology is produced, hybrid rice cannot succeed in isolation from global developments. It is clear that this technology will dramatically draw in the private sector. The heavyweights are already putting their investments down, aided and abetted by IRRI, FAO and the ADB. What this will mean for small farmers and consumers will be determined by the leverage of the industry in the economic landscape. Today, the seed industry is controlled by a handful of agrochemical corporations that are all actively pursuing genetic engineering to increase dependence on their proprietary chemicals and genes. Nearly 80 percent of the world's farmlands sown to transgenic crops today is devoted to plants that have been designed to be sprayed with herbicides. A similar pattern is bound to emerge with hybrid rice, as the big life science companies own patents for herbicide-tolerant rice, which is already being field-tested. But more ominously, given the technical constraints in developing hybrid rice for the tropics, genetic engineering will play a pivotal role. This is not only true of combining abilities but of need for pest and disease resistance. The industry's grow This is not only true of combining abilities but of the need for pest and disease resistance. The industry's growing control over proprietary technology in this area - topped by the big question mark on who will own apomixis - is close to an assurance that just a few corporations are likely reap whatever is to be gained from hybrid rice.