Seeds for Sustainable Agriculture Written by Ramon T. Ayco, Sr.

Edited by Rogelio Rustico G. Teves, agriculturist; and Ely M. Santos

February 2012

The Project Development Institute, through its program on Sustainable Agriculture, is deeply

committed to the use and development of local seeds as the seed is the most basic input in

agriculture being the source of a plant.

Sustainable Agriculture is the practice of farming using principles of ecology, the study of

relationships between organisms and their environment. It has been defined as "an integrated

system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will last

over the long term.”

Sustainable Agriculture is doing away with inorganic fertilizers and pesticides like herbicides

and insecticides because these chemicals kill earthworms and microbes, the makers of natural

fertilizers. Not using chemicals will allow these natural makers of organic fertilizers to thrive

which in turn will help us regain the yield and sustainability of our land, with minimal cost.

Moreover, extensive use of these chemical fertilizers and pesticides has been linked to pollution

and serious health problems.

In 1990, the US government defined sustainable agriculture in Public Law 101-624, Title XVI,

Subtitle A, Section 1683, as “an integrated system of plant and animal production practices

having a site-specific application that will, over the long term, satisfy human food and fiber

needs; enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agricultural

economy depends; make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources

and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls; sustain the economic

viability of farm operations; and enhance the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole.”

Local and Improved Seeds

Organically grown crops provide the seed requirement for Sustainable Agriculture.

The local and indigenous seeds are what are referred to as “heirloom seeds” -- seeds that have

been faithfully reproduced and handed down from generation to generation, these seeds have

unmatched richness of flavor, nutritional benefit, and resistance to diseases and tolerance to

adverse weather conditions like droughts. These seeds have a long history, and may have been

plants that were grown by your great-great grandparents.

A plant is considered to be an heirloom if it is an open-pollinated cultivar that is over 50 years

old. If you raised a plant, and kept its seeds and replanted them every year for 50 years, you

would have an heirloom plant. "Open-pollination" ensures that the plant will reproduce itself true

to form, so that the new plant will looks just like the parent plant.

When heirloom gardeners refer to open-pollination, they mean that a particular cultivar can be

grown from seed and will come back "true to type." In other words, the next generation will look

just like its parent.

Now, however, there are more and more vegetables that will not come back "true to type." For

example, plant nearly any hybrid tomato, and save the seeds. Then plant it again in the next

planting season and see what happens. The seed may not even germinate, since it may be sterile.

If it does sprout, the young plants will probably not have many of the characteristics of the parent

plant, nor will it look anything like the plant you got the seeds from. While hybrids have many

outstanding qualities, the ability to reproduce themselves is not one of them.

Heirloom plants have developed resistance to certain pests and diseases and are hardier and

healthier than hybrids. Their original genetic material is intact and the plants' unique

reproductive and immune information has been preserved. Heirloom fruits and vegetables have

stronger flavors, and come in many different and unique colors, sizes, and shapes.

Organic seed production follow the principles of ecological farming such as conservation of

biodiversity, protection of natural soil fertility, recycling, natural resource conservation,

appropriate pest management and maintenance of genetic resources and cultivars. Banned are

practices that lead to accumulation of heavy metals and other pollutants. Basic slag, rock

phosphate and sewage sludge have high heavy metal content and other unwanted substances and

thus are not allowed. Management of manure and crop rotations are encouraged. Non-synthetic

mineral fertilizers (i.e., supplements and other brought-in fertilizers of biological origin) are not

considered replacements for nutrient.

Hybrid and Genetically Modified Seeds

Hybrid seeds are seeds that have actually been bred for commercial growers. When you order

seeds from most seed suppliers, this is what you are getting. Plants are bred to resist certain

diseases or pesticides. A hybridized plant is the result of a cross between two varieties of plant.

When seeds are taken from the cross-pollinated plant, these seeds cannot reproduce the parent

plant, but will revert back to one of the parent plants. Hybridization has caused loss in color,

flavor, and adaptability. Not to mention the thousands of plants that have been lost to us forever

because of the monopolization of big seed companies like Monsanto and others.

Modern hybridizations not only do not reproduce the original plants faithfully, but the new plants

may be unable to adapt to changes in the environment. Hybrid plants do not have the same

strength, vigor, or immunity against disease that Heirloom plants have. Seeds that have been

changed genetically to resist the application of herbicides become sterile and cannot reproduce

themselves.

Planting only genetically modified seeds can lead to serious problems. First, relying solely on

modified seeds and neglecting to preserve genuine heirloom seeds, presents the very real

possibility of our multitudes of plant varieties becoming extinct, due to lack of conservation and

use. Second, modified seeds are incapable of reproducing themselves faithfully, so if they are the

only seeds being used, there is no way of saving them for planting next year!! Especially if they

are modified seeds with "terminator genes" -- then they are incapable of being grown again.

If we have let all our local varieties of crops become extinct, what are we going to plant? Many

thousands of plant varieties have now become extinct. For example, how many kinds of rices do

you think there used to be at one time? Over 3,000!!! Now there are only a couple of varieties

planted in the fields. The situation is the same with other kinds of food plants and fruits. There

are not very many local varieties left.

Commercial growers who only grow hybrid crops run the risk of a fungus or plant disease

destroying their whole crop, as the plant may not be resistant to all diseases, but only what they

were engineered to be resistant such as herbicides (Round-UP). Because of this, there is the risk

that weeds sprayed with herbicides could develop resistance and produce monster weeds that can

seriously compete with crops and thus reduce its yield.

GM Foods, Harmful and Dangerous

More and more scientists are attesting to the fact that genetically modified (GM) crops produce

foods that are harmful and dangerous.

In a recent study posted in the website of Institute for Responsible Technology, the American

Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM) reported that “Several animal studies indicate

serious health risks associated with GM food,” including infertility, immune problems,

accelerated aging, faulty insulin regulation, and changes in major organs and the gastrointestinal

system. The AAEM asked physicians to advise patients to avoid GM foods.

Before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) decided to allow GMOs into food

without labeling, FDA scientists had repeatedly warned that GM foods can create unpredictable,

hard-to-detect side effects, including allergies, toxins, new diseases, and nutritional

problems. They urged long-term safety studies, but were ignored.

Since then, findings include:

Thousands of sheep, buffalo, and goats in India died after grazing on Bt cotton plants

Mice eating GM corn for the long term had fewer, and smaller, babies

More than half the babies of mother rats fed GM soy died within three weeks, and were

smaller

Testicle cells of mice and rats on a GM soy change significantly

By the third generation, most GM soy-fed hamsters lost the ability to have babies

Rodents fed GM corn and soy showed immune system responses and signs of toxicity

Cooked GM soy contains as much as 7-times the amount of a known soy allergen

Soy allergies skyrocketed by 50% in the UK, soon after GM soy was introduced

The stomach lining of rats fed GM potatoes showed excessive cell growth, a condition

that may lead to cancer.

Studies showed organ lesions, altered liver and pancreas cells, changed enzyme levels,

etc.

Unlike safety evaluations for drugs, there are no human clinical trials of GM foods. The only

published human feeding experiment revealed that the genetic material inserted into GM soy

transfers into bacteria living inside our intestines and continues to function. This means that

long after we stop eating GM foods, we may still have their GM proteins produced continuously

inside us. This could mean:

If the antibiotic gene inserted into most GM crops were to transfer, it could create super

diseases, resistant to antibiotics

If the gene that creates Bt-toxin in GM corn were to transfer, it might turn our intestinal

bacteria into living pesticide factories.

Although no studies have evaluated if antibiotic or Bt-toxin genes transfer, that is one of the key

problems. The safety assessments are too superficial to even identify most of the potential

dangers from GMOs.

Seed Monopoly

The seed is the most important input in agriculture; it is the beginning or source of a plant. Its

practical purpose is for the propagation and multiplication of crops. As such, a seed is any

planting material, whether true seed (i.e., product of fertilization) or not. Therefore the one who

controls the seed controls agriculture.

Traditional agriculture knowledge and systems have a scientific basis, and over generations,

farmers have perfected their practices in all aspects of agriculture including developing new crop

varieties by closely following natural practices. But if there is one thing farmers have not done

themselves, it is developing new varieties through artificial or induced means. Indeed, producing

new varieties through genetic manipulation has for long been the sole preserve of agricultural

research institutions and agro-chemical companies that have placed a veil of secrecy over the

technology under the pretext of it being “scientifically strict and technically difficult”. This

absolute control over seed research and multiplication has allowed them to totally dominate the

market imposing an alien, high-input, monoculture-predominant agriculture.

Seed industry concentration has resulted from major pesticide manufacturers like Monsanto,

DuPont, Bayer and Dow monopolizing the world’s seed supply, with several negative impacts:

1) Use of genetic engineering to make pesticide-promoting GM crops, harming the environment;

2) Reduction/elimination of conventional seeds, giving farmers little choice but to buy GM

seeds; 3) Astronomical prices for GM seeds and the pesticides used with them which burden

farmers financially; 4) Monsanto’s patents on seeds permit prosecution of farmers for seed-

saving; and 5) Monsanto “strong-arm” tactics with ever fewer remaining independent seed

companies further reduce farmers’ seed choices and enforce the company’s stranglehold on

seeds.

Biotech companies like Monsanto force growers to sign a “technology use agreement” when

growing their patented GM crops which stipulates, among other things that farmers cannot save

the seeds produced from their GM harvest. Before, farmers were able to save their own seed and

even sell it to other farmers without fear of legal prosecution. But now, since companies like

Monsanto have been granted patents on seed, they have the right to sue farmers for saving this

seed, either intentionally or unintentionally due to “genetic pollution” caused by pollen drift or

other causes. Monsanto alone has threatened untold thousands of farmers with litigation,

collected patent fees from large numbers of farmers and taken more than a hundred to court.

These persecutions and prosecutions have led to farmers paying tens of millions of dollars to the

company.

References:

1. Sustainable Agriculture; Wikipedia

2. Organic Seed As Basis For Sustainable Agriculture by Pamela G Fernandez ; Philippine

Journal of Crop Science 2001

3. Genetically Modified Foods, Are they Safe?; website of Institute for Responsible Technology

4. What is Sustainable Agriculture?; website of Sustainable Table

5. Heirloom Seeds: The Importance of Planting and Preserving Genetically True Seeds For The

Future; website of Hub Pages

PHOTO DOCUMENTATION

SEEDLINGS AT PDI AREAS OF WORK

Coffee and banana seedlings in Kaybanban, San Jose, Del Monte, Bulacan.

The photos above show planting of 1,000 fruit bearing trees in an Agrarian Reform Community in Margot,

Angeles, Pampanga through the joint effort of PDI, LGU and peasants organizations. Photo below shows

coffee seedlings in said area.

Aetas planting upland rice in Kinaragan, Limay, Bataan.

Seedling Nurseries in Botolan, Zambales

Seedlings of rice, mango, pineapple, and cassava in Laur, Nueva Ecija

Vegetables (left up and below), rice (up right) and seaweeds (below right) in Coron, Palawan