For the third year, the Truth About Trade and Technology (TATT) held a Global Farmer to Farmer Roundtable in conjunction with the World Food Prize events. Over 20 farmers from as many nations participated in the event this year to discuss biotech agriculture in their countries, according to TATT chairman Dean Kleckner.
“Either how we’re using it and here’s what it’s done for us or we’d like to use it and our government won’t let us,” Kleckner said. “They just sit around a table and talk. It’s really fun, interesting and intellectually stimulating.”
Last year, TATT established a Trade and Technology Advancement Award to recognize “leadership, vision and resolve in advancing the rights of all farmers to choose the technology and tools that will improved the quality, quantity and availability of agricultural products around the world.” This year’s winner was Jeff Bidstrup of Queensland, Australia – pictured here with his wife Marilyn as Dean presented them with the award.
Listen to an interview with Dean here: wfp-08-kleckner.mp3
Another farmer who took part in the global roundtable was Oliver Ransmann of Germany, who was able to attend at the last minute because he happened to be visiting Monsanto in St. Louis last week prior to the World Food Prize symposium. I had a very interesting conversation with him about the lack of acceptance of biotech in his country and Europe in general. He just started using biotech crops two years ago on his 400 ha farm that grows mainly corn and rye to generate biogas.
He told me that farmers who choose to grow biotech crops in Germany are “branded” in a way and subject to vandalism. “This year my ground was damaged by activists – we had iron sticks in the fields and spoons and knives in the grain,” he told me. “We can’t understand why people are doing it and it’s very dangerous.” Why does he do it? “If I’m not using Bt maize, I have 30-40 percent less productivity and I can’t afford it,” he said.
Listen to this interesting interview with Oliver here: wfp-08-oliver.MP3