The country’s total area planted with genetically engineered (GE) corn this year expanded by 26 percent to 834,617 hectares indicating “increased acceptance and understanding of the benefits of biotechnology,” according to a Global Agricultural Information Network (Gain) report.
The Gain report, prepared by the United States Department of Agriculture Foreign Agricultural Service in Manila (USDA-FAS Manila), noted that the total area planted with GE corn has steadily expanded in the past two decades since the crop’s introduction in 2003.
Citing data from the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI), GE corn planted area grew by 7,650 percent to over 830,000 hectares in the 2019-2020 period (February-March) from 10,769 hectares in 2003.
“The growth in area over the past two decades likely indicates increased farmer acceptance and awareness of the safety and benefits of using GE corn,” the report, which was published recently, read.
The Gain report noted that total GE corn area “would be higher if the use of counterfeit GE seeds were included.”
“Sold as conventional seeds, counterfeit GE seeds are produced with Bt and Roundup Ready (RR) traits. Although cheaper, they are inferior in quality and sold without proper stewardship measures,” it said.
“The same source estimates counterfeit GE seeds at around 10 percent of overall Bt corn seeds.”
In 2018, the BusinessMirror broke the story on the proliferation of counterfeit GE seeds which was considered by industry experts as a threat to the overall growth of the corn and seed industries. (See “Flaw in law threatens to slow seeds sector’s success,” BusinessMirror, June 6, 2018).
Based on BPI data GE corn area during the 2019-2020 period was 26.7 percent higher than the 658,267 hectares recorded in the 2018-2019 period, according to the Gain report.
Citing BPI data, the Gain report said GE corn planted in Luzon for the current production period reached 593,117 hectares while areas in Visayas and Mindanao reached 47,519 hectares and 196,981 hectares, respectively.
“BPI’s most recent data show that over 70 percent of GE corn in the Philippines is grown on Luzon island, with 24 percent in Mindanao, and 6 percent in the Visayas. This contrasts with Mindanao island representing about half of total—GE and conventional—corn production, per the Philippine Statistics Authority,” the report read.
“Mindanao produces about 70 percent of Philippine white corn, which is primarily used for feed, whereas the area only represents 40 percent of yellow corn production, which goes to animal feed.”
Biotech law
TO streamline the regulatory process and fast-track the approval of biotechnology products, a lawmaker is pushing for the passage of House Bill 3372 or the Modern Biotechnology Act.
AAMBIS-OWA Party-list Representative Sharon Garin renewed her call for the passage of the bill she authored in light of the damage caused by the series of the typhoon on the agriculture sector.
Garin pointed out that there is a “need to foster science-based methods for risk-mitigation” that includes the utilization of biotechnology products.
“It is time that the safe and responsible use of biotechnology is included in the Philippine toolkit to meet national development goals,” she said in a recent statement.
The bill would establish the Biotechnology Authority of the Philippines (BioAP), a policy-making body attached to the Department of Science and Technology, that would be responsible for reviewing, improving, and implementing biosafety regulations for products of modern biotechnology. The BioAP would also ensure that biosafety regulations are “science-based and simplified with a product-based and not a process-based approach,” according to Garin.
“A key feature of the bill is the proposed exemption for donor’s tax for any donation, contribution, bequest subsidy, or financial aid to BioAP or any Department, state universities and colleges (SUCs), or research center in support of biotechnology,” she said.
The bill also outlines penalties for unauthorized destruction of biotech crops, sale or distribution of fake Genetically Modified Organism (GMO) seeds. A fine of P500,000 and/or imprisonment for two years shall be imposed on individual violators, according to the bill.
If the violation is made by an organization or an institution, a fine of P10,000,000 and/or suspension of the privilege to operate within the Philippines shall be imposed, it added.
“The Modern Biotechnology Act of 2018 is in line with the National Economic and Development Authority’s [Neda] recognition of agricultural biotechnology as a priority sector with a direct impact on AmBisyon 2040,” Garin said.
The bill is currently pending with the House Committee on Science and Technology since August 6.