Pinoy farmer honored in 'Noah's Ark' opening

A Filipino farmer was honored at the opening of the Global Seed Vault in Norway, touted as the modern-day “Noah’s Ark". Eulogio ‘Tay Gipo’ Sasi Jr, 64, from Roxas, North Cotabato, spoke during the opening conference of the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in the Arctic Island of Svalbard on February 25. In the audience were about 200 scientists, diplomats and world leaders including 2004 Nobel Peace Prize Awardee Wangari Maathal of Kenya and UN Food and Agriculture Organization Secretary General Jacques Diouf. The Ministry of Agriculture and Food of Norway invited Tay Gipo for his work on seed conservation, rice breeding and maintenance of biodiversity in his farm. He developed the rice variety Bordagol, which has been widely distributed and used by farmers because of its good tillering trait and resistance to pests and diseases. The Svalbard Global Seed Vault is a back-up seed storage facility that can store millions of diverse seed collections. It was designed as an “insurance policy" to secure seeds – the world’s most important living resource – against catastrophes such as floods, earthquakes, nuclear fallouts and even climate change. The 120-meter facility is a project of the Global Crop Diversity Trust, the Nordic Genebank and the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Agriculture and Food in the permafrost mountain of Svalbard, some 1,000 kilometers away from the North Pole. Tay Gipo said he was hesitant when invited to talk during conference. “I am embarrassed to talk in front of many people, especially in front of important people, like all of you. Para sa isang pobre at simpleng magsasaka tulad ko, parang imposible at mahirap na humarap sa inyo dahil; napakalayo ng lugar na ito mula sa Pilipinas. Akala ko hindi ako makapunta dito dahil wala akong birth certificate. (For a poor and simple farmer like myself, it seems impossible and hard to face and address you all: this is very far from the Philippines. I thought I could not make it here because I do not have a birth certificate)," Tay Gipo said in his speech. Tay Gipo was born on June 8, 1944, in La Castellana, Negros Occidental. His parents were not able to register his birth because it was in the middle of the Second World War. He was still young when his family migrated from the Visayas to Mindanao. He said he only reached 4th grade and did not bother getting documents, such as a birth certificate. When other farmers in Roxas started noticing his rice variety in 1987, many exchanged seeds with him. He thought of naming it Bordagol, a character in a children’s comic book that save the world. Tay Gipo said he chose the character because his plant can help farmers. On September 1, 1993, he received a Plaque of Recognition for being one of the “Most Outstanding Farmer Achiever" in the province of North Cotabato. He met Rene Salazar and Frank Magnifico of the Southeast Asia Research Institute on Community Empowerment in 1992. He participated in the programs of the institution and learned more about rice breeding and other farm technologies. In 1997, he tried breeding Bordagol with Basmati, a rice variety from India. It took him five years before he was able to stabilize and release the seeds that he called GIFTS (Genetically Improved Farm Technology of Seeds). “It occurred to me, how many farmers like me will be able to have an opportunity to get here to just see the seed bank? It seems quite impossible for an ordinary farmer who does not have any means to pay for the fare and has the capacity to process visa papers to be able to come here," said Tay Gipo in his speech. When asked what he thinks of the seed vault, he admitted to the people attending the opening, “I do not know because we farmers are used to storing seeds through continually planting the seeds in our farms so that the seeds will not be lost. I could not imagine how I will be able to use the seeds that will be stored here, this is too far from my farm. I do not also know how it would be possible for me to share my seeds to other farmers if my seeds are stored here in Svalbard." He expressed hope that the seed vault can help poor farmers. “While we are celebrating the opening of the Seed Vault and depositing of seeds here, I hope that the efforts of farmers will not be deposited and forgotten here. We, farmers, are helping in the conservation of seeds. We are developing new seeds. That the seeds to be stored in the seed vault and are in the seed vault now, were nurtured through our own hands and knowledge," said Tay Gipo. Tay Gipo challenged the audience to provide equal or more attention and support to the farmers’ conservation efforts done through continuous use, enrichment of knowledge and development of new seeds. “I hope governments will provide support to farmers including fair and better prices for our products. I hope that the knowledge that goes with the seeds will not just be stored in ice, but further enriched by giving support to the work of farmers," he said. Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Wangari Maathal quoted Tay Gipo in her speech during the opening of the Svalbard museum. Along with the UN FAO director general and the Minister of Agriculture and Food of Norway, Tay Gipo was given a lithograph of Svalbard with a polar bear and Arctic night for being the "best speaker" during the opening of the Seed Vault. - GMANews.TV from a report in PinoyPress.net