LINGAYEN–The provincial government is considering to take legal action against a multinational company for selling certified but defective corn seeds to farmers.

The legal action is being contemplated after Provincial Agriculturist Dalisay Moya submitted her report to Gov. Amado Espino III on the investigation conducted by her office of the complaint of farmers who bought the alleged defective certified corn seeds DEKALB 6998s.

The complaining affected farmers from Basista, Urbiztondo, Mangatarem. San Carlos City, Calasiao and Aguilar told Moya their corn crops yielded many unfilled kernels, (bungi-bungi).

“It is so saddening because they can not even recover what they had invested in their farm this corn cropping season,” Moya added.

The seeds, costing up to P10,000 per bag (good for one-hectare of corn land), is produced and marketed by Monsanto Philippines, a multinational seed company.

Espino, acting on the complaints of affected farmers, referred the report to Provincial Legal Officer Geraldine Baniqued, Moya said.

“It is up to the legal office to decide what steps that should be taken to help farmers recover some of their losses,” Moya said, adding that the seed was a bt corn variety described as “quality certified corn seeds”.

The issue was the subject of an earlier privilege speech of Second District Board Member Raul Sison two weeks ago.

She said that farmers in Urbioztondo who used to harvest an average of seven metric tons per hectare using the old seeds variety, they may end up with just one to two metric tons of corn per hectare only because of the defective seeds.

The investigation conducted by the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist is separate from the investigation to be conducted by the committee on agriculture of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan headed by Fourth District Board Member Liberato Villegas.

Moya said the SP invited her, the affected corn farmers and municipal agriculturists to shed light on the their experience.

Also invited to that hearing are representatives of Monsanto Philippines.

A report said that Monsanto said that the corn seeds sold to the farmers were good quality seeds but the problem may lie on the temperature as well as soil condition of the farms.

All of the farmers interviewed by Moya’s office attested that the seeds that they bought were the unproductive seeds bought from Mosanto Philippines.

She said her office will continue to validate the complaints to bolster the case of the farmers against the seed company. (Leonardo Micua)

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