Agriculture Secretary Luis ‘Cito’ Lorenzo is a man ahead of his time. He has shown this when he steered local banana company Lapanday into its conquest of international markets traditionally controlled by foreign-owned multinationals. 

Now that he is serving the government, Cito has shown that agriculture for him is not just a social vocation but also an enterprise that has the usual elements of business - technology, marketing, competitive edge and profits. He thinks in terms of trends, productivity, technology and increased revenues that come from the systematic management of agricultural resources. 

A few months into the job - he has already welcomed new technologies that would steer the growth of the Philippine agricultural sector. 

But this is where Cito’s next battle is. 

There are reports that a multi-million dollar campaign is being waged by some international and local groups against the agriculture chief. They are reportedly gearing up to derail his confirmation by the powerful Commission on Appointments (CA) because of his vision to bring more food into the Filipino farmers’ table through biotechnology. 

Biotechnology, in particular genetic engineering, allows scientists to develop plant varieties with natural high resistance to pests and therefore drastically reduce or eliminate the need to apply toxic chemical insecticides. 

Many countries and governments all over the world, including leading bodies like the Food and Agriculture Organization, have promoted biotechnology mainly for one reason: Time is of the essence in finding a solution to growing world hunger and malnutrition. As our scientists put it, everyday there are more and more mouths to feed and less and less arable land. Agriculture can no longer remain an input-based sector; it must now become technology-based. Hopes are high that biotechnology can help develop superior-yielding crops to compensate for diminishing land. 

Local and international groups like Greenpeace however are questioning the safety of biotechnology and genetically modified products. They claim that biotechnology will result to ‘millions of dead bodies and sick children, cancer cluster and deformities.’ Aren’t they talking about something else, like nuclear holocaust? 

In contrast, scientists and health experts have made extensive studies which show that farmers not only will produce more, and earn more, but also avoid the dangers of continued exposure to pesticides, by just planting biotech seeds. 

The local scientific community has joined its foreign counterparts in lending its all-out support to biotechnology. This includes scientists from the University of the Philippines in Los Baños (UPLB), the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, the National Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), the Institute of Plant Breeding, the Natural 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, the Pest Management Council of the Philippines, the Women Association of Scientists in the Philippines, and the Women Investors Association of the Philippines. 

Various industry associations in the agricultural sector including the Philippine Maize Federation, Inc. (PMFI), Philippine College of Veterinary Feed Practitioners (PCVFP), Philippine Association of Broiler Integrators (PABI), National Federation of Hog Farmers, Inc. (NHFGI), the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), and the ARMM Business Council have also expressed support to government’s approval of the use of biotechnology as anchor of the country’s food security program. 

Let’s just hope that Cito will not cave in to the scare tactics of European-funded Greenpeace. Everybody knows that the reasons why Europe wants America and Japan to fail in biotechnology are merely political. Whoever controls biotechnology has control over the future. And wittingly or unwittingly, Greenpeace is just being used. 

Some say that it is better to be right than to be popular. In the case of biotechnology, it is both right and popular. Our government should therefore go out of its way to promote biotechnology and help educate Filipinos as to its benefits and debunk myths which Greenpeace has concocted. 

As for Greenpeace, isn’t there any other way to justify its continued existence (especially after official development assistance and foreign funds for environment dwindled few years back)? 

For comments, e-mail at rmaryannl@yahoo.com