The Philippines increased areas planted to Bt corn by more than 100 percent in 2006, indicating farmers’ acceptance and increasing awareness of the benefits of genetically modified crops.

With the signing of the Biofuels Act by President Arroyo, the trend is expected to continue, as the local demand for corn is likely to increase with the expected surge of biofuels companies in the Philippines, experts said.

Corn can be used to produce ethanol, which is already a multibillion-dollar industry in the United States. At least 12 firms have signified their intention to operate biofuels plant in the Philippines after the Biofuels Act was passed by the joint bicameral committee late last year.

Dr. Randy Hautea, global coordinator and director of the Southeast Asia Center of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), said from 70,000 hectares, there is now around 160,000 hectares of agricultural land planted to Bt corn, the corn variety induced with Bacillus thuringiensis, a bacteria found in soil that turned out to be a natural enemy of insects, particularly corn borer. “The trend is likely to continue because of the increasing awareness among farmers about Bt corn,” said Hautea, a plant breeder and former director of the National Institute of Plant Breeding of the University of the Philippines (UP).

Hautea attributed this to the fact that Bt corn, which was genetically engineered to resist the Asian corn borer, has become popular among corn farmers because of the many benefits of the more superior corn variety compared to the traditional and other hybrid corn.