The Bill # 12033 for the promotion of modern biotechnology has been introduced in Peru.   It declares the national need and priority for the promotion and development of modern biotechnology and its application, as fundamental factors in technological innovation, competitivity, sustainable economic development, and the population's well-being.

The project's details lie in its incentives for biotechnological activity, intellectual property rights and biosecurity. The version that has been published on the Congress' website is not the same as the original, as many articles referring to human and animal cloning have been removed.   We hope that this last version is the one that Congress discuss and that the issue of human cloning does not put in a last-minute appearance

The project was subjected to 3 public hearings in the cities of Lima, Ica and Trujillo, where numerous observations were made, including its rejection for not being (amongst other things) a national priority.   No conclusions were drawn by the hearings due to a lack of time.   Later on, the Bill's author held another two hearings, but those who attended the previous meetings were not invited.   Civil society groups, such as the Medical College of Peru, the Network for Alternatives for the Use of Agrochemicals (RAAA), and the Consumers' Association (ASPEC), are organising a number of national discussions to raise awareness about the bill.

Incentives that only favour GMO giants

Tax incentives are offered to businesses or institutions that wish to invest in the development of, and research into, modern biotechnology.   These are excessive for a country whose universities and research institutions have no budget to carry out this kind of work, let alone purpose-built buildings or staff that are highly qualified enough.

Only large GM-producing multinationals - GM stands for genetically modified organisms , which are also known as transgenic products-, will be in a position to establish the necessary laboratories. These companies are too rich to deserve a series of tariff and tax breaks lasting fifteen years.   Likewise, there will be a reduction in income tax paid equivalent to 130% of the invested amount, up to a maximum of 50% of its utilities. This is added to exemption from paying tariffs and other taxes that would be levied against the import of the tools necessary to carry out the development of and research into genetic modification. (Section V: Articles 19, 20 of this project)

Intellectual property rights

The article 20 of the Bill states that those plants resulting from genetic modification, with or without the use of modern biotechnology, will be an object of registry to obtain certification of intellectual property in compliance with article 4, decision 345 taken by the Andean community.

The United States does not recognise as valid the Andean Community's agreements or the Convention of Biodiversity -which, by the way, was not even mentioned in this proposal, a serious omission indeed.   It only recognises the agreements reached by the international organisation for intellectual property.   Peru is allowing intellectual property rights to be granted to products of biodiversity, forfeiting any possibility of generating future income by obtaining medicines, cosmetics, and foodstuffs; in short, on any products derived from biodiversity, which are created by companies specialising in genetic modification.

Biosecurity

"The law can take anything," is a common saying in Peru.   It refers to the fact that there are many laws and rulings stated on paper, but that unfortunately not all the Peruvians happily comply with.   Corruption is deep-rooted, as is bribery , meaning that laws are flouted with impunity.

Faced with this situation, it is unlikely the Cartagena Agreement will be brought fully into force, as well as Ruling # 27104 on biosecurity and its regulation, and the regulation of internal sectors for biosecurity.   It is for these reasons that we must not risk the health of the Peruvians on a new GM product until we are entirely satisfied that it will have no damaging effects on health.

Is it the answer to poverty?

Modern biotechnology (genetic modification) is not a priority for Peru, because poverty will not be solved whilst there is an unfair distribution of wealth and farmers are poorly remunerated for their products. The middlemen and exporters are increasingly wealthy, whilst farmers are increasingly poor. Sadly, GM products will not change this.

Around 84.4 % of Peruvian farmers own between 1 and 10 hectares of land, a smallholding . They have no access to credit; they live in states of poverty and extreme poverty, and have great difficulty in paying for the GM seeds each season.

According to an age-old culture passed down from the ancestors, our farmers select their harvests and keep the best seeds to plant the following year. It will be impossible to stop farmers from reusing these seeds or that they take them to other areas as changing behavioural models is not only difficult and costly, but requires a great deal of time. As a result, it is highly likely that local plant varieties and wild species will be contaminated by GM ones.

Peruvian organic and conventional agricultural exports to European countries (whose inhabitants prefer to avoid GM products) could be at risk due to a rise in production costs. These would be caused by the implementation of various measures to protect traditional crops from contamination by GM pollen, as well as having to pay for the certification to prove that this contamination did not happen.

Pollination, as we are all aware, is carried out by the wind, insects, birds and other animals. Controlling this process is difficult, though not impossible. This will make our prices less competitive and could stop the export of all fresh agricultural products to these countries altogether. Peru is becoming a recognised brand in agricultural exports and we cannot risk losing these markets.

Food security

The idea that GM products will help to solve the problem of food security does not ring true in Peru. Our country has many native foodstuffs with a high nutritional value: grains, fruit, vegetables - and the list goes on. They contain high levels of protein, essential amino acids, vitamins and minerals. However, a lack of policies that encourage the consumption of Peruvian native products has led to problems of malnutrition within our society.

The issue of social assistance should not be used to gain votes, encouraging people to sit around waiting for someone to feed them. We need to promote the use of home-grown crops to supplement diet.   This is how we can solve the problem of food security.   There is no need for GM products with a high yet deficient nutritional value if we have far superior native products.

Protecting the environment

Our ancestors used farming techniques that minimised the losses caused by plagues, disease and adverse conditions.   These techniques have been lost over time and we will need to recover them in order to encourage organic farming amongst small farmers and peasant associations.   This way we can offer the world highly nutritious foodstuffs that are both safe and secure.   Using these measures, these farmers can in turn improve turnover, ensure food security, and protect the environment by using 'clean' agricultural technology, avoiding chemical pesticides and fertilizers.

This is why Bt GM products (those with Bacillis thurgiensis) , which are resistant to herbicides, drought and cold, are not needed in Peru.   They would cause job losses, as plague and disease control is carried out manually here.  

Gene influx and contamination caused by biodiversity

Peru is place of origin for many cultivated species.   We must not place our own agricultural biodiversity at risk, as this would also endanger Peru's food security.   GM seeds will do away with local species, eliminating them along with their natural resistance to unfavourable conditions. The same will happen to the wild species.

Varieties with the Terminator germ (sterile) are not a good idea, because a foreign gene has a destabilizing effect, bringing about mutations in these species, or even causing their unique characteristics to be lost altogether.   Once more, our biodiversity and agricultural biodiversity must be protected.

Conclusion

There are many reasons that explain why modern biotechnology is not a national priority for Peru, and why this Bill should not be approved by Congress.   By facilitating the production of GM products, we are not simply putting our food security at risk, but also the national economy. This will be caused through the loss of export markets for our conventional, organic products due to an inability to assure customers 100% that there has been no cross-contamination of local, native, wild and commercial varieties by pollen from GM plants.   In Mexico, cases of this nature have already been reported in both wild and commercial maize, the home of this crop.   And this is something that we certainly do not want to happen in Peru.

Translated by Alice Kilgarriff.