ZAMBOANGA CITY - Notwithstanding opposition from environmental and other civil society groups, government scientists recently conducted a forum here on the benefits of biotechnology.

The objective, it was explained, is to improve yields as well as quality of crops produced.

Dr. Saturnina Halos, chairperson of the Agriculture Department's technical advisory committee on biotechnology, said advocacy on modern agriculture is a priority in the government's development agenda.

She noted that biotechnology has improved some local farmers' crop yields significantly. "The experiment in Tigaon, Camarines Sur is an eye-opener. Through biotech, the farmers increased their corn yield by 700%," she said.

This project, she added, has been supported by the President since July 2001 when she issued a policy statement supporting and promoting the safe and responsible use of biotechnology and its products as one of several means to achieve and sustain food security, equitable access to health services, a sustainable and safe environment, and industry development.

Ms. Halos pointed out that individual farms in the Philippines are relatively small at an average size of 1.5 hectares. Such farms support a family of six to 12 persons and have variable soil fertility. Rainfall, marketing and farmers' education are added factors that further influence rural families' incomes.

"In short, with conditions so variable," she said, "it's folly to provide a single solution to problems of low productivity which, in general, characterizes Philippine agriculture. Hence, we believe that biotechnology is one of the best and most effective means to increase rural incomes and solve related social problems."

A transgenic plant contains beneficial genes that have been artificially inserted. The inserted genes may come from another unrelated plant or from a completely different species.

"With such technology, scientists can bring together in one plant the useful genes of a diverse range of living sources, not just within the crop species or closely related plants and this speeds up the work of producing superior plant varieties," she said.

The use of GMO in agriculture can also increase incomes because farmers may no longer need to use pesticides. GMO corn used locally has an increased resistance to pests and diseases.

The forum aimed to correct the negative perception that biotechnology is not safe, Ms. Halos said.

"Biotechnology, in fact, is one of the most extensively researched and reviewed agricultural developments ... Findings show that benefits outweigh any potential risks," she said.

Retired Catholic Bishop Jesus Varela of Sorsogon, who attended the event, said "Society's moral responsibility to feed these teeming millions is inexorable and the use of population control is not the solution, since its effect in alleviating hunger is not immediate. One way to counterattack this problem is support for environmentally safe food biotechnology."

"If GMO can deliver on these promises, as indicators show it does, it can help quite substantially solve our country's problem of hunger and malnutrition," he said.