Vietnam - Seed merchants urge Vietnam to grow GMC

VietNamNet Bridge – Seedsmen have become impatient about the delay of Vietnamese agencies in making a decision whether to allow growing genetically modified crops (GMC) on a large scale in Vietnam.

>> Vietnam still keeps cautious with GMC

Seedsmen awaiting answer with patience

GM maize plants have been present in Vietnam for the last three years. They have experienced one--testing on a small scale and two--testing on a large scale in different areas with different biological conditions in the northern mountainous areas, Red River Delta, Central Highlands and the East of the Southern region.

However, Vietnamese management agencies have not made any official decision about whether to put GMC into large-scale cultivation.

The seed merchant said in a tetchy tone at a recent meeting about the result of GM maize growing in Vietnam--that he could not understand why Vietnam has been so late to make final decision.

He said all the GM maize varieties grown in Vietnam in a trial basis have been cultivated in many countries including the US, the Philippines, Canada and Australia.

“We have made an assay evaluation in accordance with criteria as requested by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. However, Vietnamese management agencies and scientists say the results still cannot say anything and that it is necessary to carry out further tests,” he said.

“However, we want to know what we need to do now, and what criteria more we need to find out, but no one tells us about this,” he said.

In fact, Vietnamese relevant agencies have every reason to worry about the risks to the biosafety, especially when GMO remains a controversial issue in the world.

The reports about the tests all have shown positive results about GM maize. All the maize varieties do not manifest the risks of becoming weeds, pests or evading the environment and biodiversity. Scientists also cannot see any threat of the GM maize to non-target species.

These two maize varieties belong to the pest and glyphosate herbicide resistant lines. No difference has been found in the GM maize samples and normal maize samples in terms of the susceptibility to some diseases.

Dr Le Huy Ham, Head of the Institute for Agricultural Genetics has affirmed that the insect resistibility of the tested maize plants was very good, while the yield, quality of the GM maize both are better than domestic varieties. Especially, the productivity is 30-40 percent higher than the currently grown maize varieties in Vietnam.

Vietnam is seriously thinking about whether to grow GM maize. The demand for animal food has been increasing, while the supply is short. Every year, Vietnam has to import 1.6 million tons of corn materials to make animal feed. Meanwhile, the plant growing areas have been narrowed, and farmers have to spend too much money on the measures to kill insects, according to Nguyen Dong Quang, a senior official of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

What to do next?

Professor Nguyen Lan Dung, a well-known Vietnamese biology expert, said that the reports need to point out the economic efficiency. Scientists have found out that GM maize does not badly affect the ecosystem and the earth, but they have not mentioned the possible effects to microorganisms and viruses. Therefore, it’s necessary to assign microbial institute to verify the roots of the maize plants.

Professor Tran Hong Huy, former Head of the Maize Research Institute, said that the experiments of plant varieties need to be carried out in at least three crops, and in many cases, six crops, before the final results are found. Therefore, even if the report says GM maize does not affect the environment, it’s still too early to come to a final conclusion.

Hai Duong

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