July 2007
A region of Peru that is a center of
potato diversity has banned genetically modified varieties of the tuber.
The Cusco regional government's Order 010 - approved by majority vote on
June 21 and made public today - is intended to protect the genetic
diversity of thousands of native potato varieties.
The order forbids the sale, cultivation, use and transport of genetically
modified potatoes as well as other native food crops.
Potatoes have been cultivated in the Cusco region for thousands of years
and helped to feed the ancient Inca empire.
The regional capital Cusco is the oldest continuously inhabited city in
the Americas. Along with nearby Machu Picchu, the Lost City of the Incas
just named one of the new seven wonders of the world, Cusco is a UNESCO
World Heritage Site.
The potato originated in the highlands of South America. Peru and its
Andean neighbor countries are the crop's center of diversity - with more
than 4,000 distinct varieties that farmers have developed over
generations.
Today, more than 1.2 million people live in the Cusco region. Many are
small-scale farmers for whom the potato is their most important crop.
Local farmers' organizations fear that genes from genetically modified,
GM, potatoes could transfer into local varieties and alter their unique
properties.
The head of the regional government's environmental office, Abel
Caballero, proposed the ban "in recognition of the historical, cultural,
social and economic importance of the potato and other native crops to the
Cusco Region."
Order 010 was passed in response to proposals submitted by a network of
local potato farming communities and Asociacion ANDES, an indigenous
nongovernmental organization based in Cusco.
They collaborated on the proposals with the International Institute for
Environment and Development, IIED, an independent, non-profit research
institute based in London
"This is unprecedented for Peru and a great victory for the communities of
Cusco," says Alejandro Argumedo, director of Asociacion ANDES.
"It will protect the region from contamination with GM varieties that can
threaten the diversity of the potatoes and other important native food
crops that are critical for food security and the economy," said Argumedo.
ANDES, the Association for Nature and Sustainable Development, is a
non-profit Peruvian indigenous organization that aims to improve the
quality of life of Andean indigenous communities. It works by promoting
the conservation and sustainable use of indigenous bio-cultural heritage
through rights-based conservation development approaches.
The importance of the potato is dramatized on Peru's National Day of
the Potato 2007.
The potato is so important in Peru, that in 2005 the Peruvian government
declared that May 30 every year would be celebrated as the National Day of
the Potato.
The law establishing the National Day states, "The potato crop is crucial
in the history, development, culture and cuisine of Peru, especially for
Andean people; its genetic wealth has contributed to global food
security."
"It is necessary to promote and revalue cultural diversity and the ancient
technologies related to the crop, and to enhance its consumption," the law
states.
ANDES marks that day with a biocultural festival each year with local food
products, local medicinal plants and handicrafts and a soccer tournament.
Community members compete in singing, dance, poetry and music, and winners
receive prizes donated by the Association ANDES.
"With this decision to keep GM crops out of one of the world's most
diverse centers of potato and other Andean crops, the regional government
of Cusco has acted wisely and with courage," said Dr. Michel Pimbert,
director of the sustainable agriculture, biodiversity and livelihoods
program at IIED.
"Responding to citizens' concerns," says Pimbert, the regional government
"has put issues of food security, human well-being and the environment
first and foremost at a time when most national governments persist in
their failure to implement international agreements to protect the
environment and human rights."
At the same time, genetically modified potatoes are being developed in
Peru. Scientists at the International Potato Center in Lima announced July
5 that they have developed the first GM crop variety in Peru - a GM potato
that can resist attack by weevils, a major insect pest.
Named Revolucion, the GM potato produces no pollen - it is naturally
sterile. The scientists transferred a gene that confers total resistance
to the potato tuber moth, Phthorimaea operculella, into the Revolution
potato variety. To date the new transgenic potato has been tested only in
the laboratory.
Similar potato varieties are undergoing field trials in Egypt, Indonesia,
South Africa, and the United States.
To counteract the threat caused by the moth, potato farmers use large
amounts of pesticides, particularly toxic phosphorates and carbamates. A
study made by CIP in 2006 for the World Bank showed that such pesticide
use was particularly damaging to the health of the farmers and harmful to
the environment.
"Unfortunately, there are not many alternatives to control this pest,"
said Marc Ghislain, who heads the Biotechnology Laboratory at CIP.
"Conventional improvement has not developed very resistant varieties and
integrated pest management is not being adopted to control the insects
that attack the potato crops."
One of the most important concerns in genetically engineering crops is the
possibility of the genes being transferred into native varieties, a
sensitive issue in Peru because it is the center of origin of the potato.
Because of this concern, said Ghislain, the Bt gene has been transferred
into a naturally sterile variety to remove any chance of transfer of the
gene. In addition, the resistant variety will not be released into the
Peruvian market because the government does not yet have regulations
governing products obtained from genetic engineering.
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