The Philippines recently took a giant step in the modernization of its agricultural sector following the approval by the Arroyo government of the domestic propagation of a popular high-yielding environment-friendly and pest-resistant biotechnology-processed corn variety.

The approval, formally signed by Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI)  director, Blo Umpar Adiong, was the final step towards the full commercialization of the biotech corn variety known as Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt corn.  The variety is now the first commercially available biotech food crop in Asia.  The country's neighbors China, India and Indonesia are extensively growing biotech cotton.  

The commercialization of Bt corn came after close to five years of rigid scientific and technical scrutiny by various government regulatory agencies.  Among these are the National Committee on Biosafety of the Philippines, the BPI, the Bureau of Animal Industry, the Bureau of Agriculture and Food Product Standards, the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority and the Scientific and Technical Review Panel composed of three independent scientists.

All the reviewing agencies gave favorable recommendation for the commercialization of the corn variety.

The review process took place and intense debate on the government's policy adopting biotechnology as the anchor of the country's food security and sufficiency program.  The debate pitted the country's scientific community and farmers groups against international pressure groups and non-governmental organizations.

The biotechnology policy received wide support from scientists from the University of the Philippines in Los Baņos, the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, the Institute of Plant Breeding, the National Science Research Institute, the Crop Science Society of the Philippines, the Philippine Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology, the Biochemical Society of the Philippines and the Pest Management Council of the Philippines.

It was also backed by the Philippine Maize Federation, the largest organization of corn farmers in the country.  Other active supporters of the pro-biotech policy are the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Business Council and the American Chamber of Commerce.

Several local Catholic Church leaders also supported biotechnology, including outspoken Manila Auxillary Bishop Teodoro Bacani, highly-influential Sorsogon prelate Bishop Jesus Varela and renowned Jesuit lawyer and theologian Fr. Joaquin Bernas.

The opposition to biotechnology was spearheaded by Europe-based pressure group Greenpeace which repeatedly warned the Philippine government against "millions of dead bodies and sick children, cancer cluster and deformities" arising from the use of the technology in agriculture.  Several NGOs also warned farmers in Isabela and Mindanao that biotech food crops can cause homosexuality and mental retardation.

The performance of Bt corn in several trial farms, however, overshadowed the heavily funded campaign against it.  Field test results showed that Bt corn could yield up to 40 percent more than traditional corn varieties during the wet season and up to 35 percent during the dry season.

This translates into additional earnings of approximately $100 to $200 per hectare for the farmers.

In addition to increased harvest, the use of Bt corn will also generate savings for local farmers due to the drastically reduced or eliminated use of toxic chemical pesticides.  This is because Bt corn is naturally resistant to the Asiatic Corn Borer or ACB, the most prevalent scourge of local corn crops known to destroy up to 100 percent of a season's cropping in many localities.

The approval for the propagation of Bt corn in the Philippines puts the country in step with other major planters of biotech processed crops.  Among these are the United States, Canada, Argentina, China, South Africa, Mexico, India, Australia and Uruguay.

According to Financial Times, the global adoption of agricultural biotechnology increased by 19 percent over the past year.