ENVIRONMENTALISTS are calling for an investigation into cotton and soybean farms suspected of growing genetically modified (GM) crops for commercial purposes.  

 Witoon Lianchamroon, coordinator of the non-governmental  organisation BioThai, which protects local farmers' rights,  yesterday said the country had poor enforcement methods  regarding the prevention of GM crops from spreading from  field test areas to regular farmland. He said he had been  informed that BT cotton, a GM crop owned by biotech giant  Monsanto, was being grown on more than 50,000 rai of  farmland nationwide despite not having been approved.  

 Moreover, he said, the crop had also spread to Laos.  Witoon said he also believed that GM soybeans might have  reached farmers' land. The Assembly of the Poor (AOP)  recently asked the government to cancel the field tests on  GM crops, which are part of scientific-experiments into  genetically modified organisms (GMOs), unless the  government could effectively stop the leakage of GM seeds  to general fields. Witoon supported the demand. However,  Deputy Agriculture Minister Natee Klibthong said he was  afraid that if the field tests could not be conducted, the  experiments would not be completed. "Then we can not  conclude whether a GM crop can be allowed to grow in the  country," Natee told The Nation. However, he added that the  Department of Agriculture would consider the AOP's proposal  and then report to the Cabinet. Jakkrit Kuanpotch, an  expert on biotechnology law, said the country still needed  a specific law to cover the GMO issue. He added that GM  crops now fall under the 1964 Plant Quarantine Act, which  he said was too outdated to cover GMOs and modern  biotechnology. "At least we should amend the act to able to  use it to penalise people who illegally import, distribute  and grow GM seeds," he said. Jakkrit suggested that the  government should revoke the license of any company whose  GM crops are leaked onto general farmland. He also pointed  out that all GM seeds were patented by multinational  conglomerates, meaning they were the ones who would benefit  if the government allowed farmers to grow GM crops.  

Sirinart Sirisunthon THE NATION