DR. ARNOLD Estrada, the country head of Monsanto Philippines Inc., offers no excuses. The company simply cannot cope these days with the sudden surge in the farmers’ demand for genetically modified (GM) corn seeds—once very controversial, but now steadily gaining serious attention as the heat of the debate cools down to more sober discussions of why improved plant strains are a substantive contributor to efforts to ease the food crisis.

To recall, Monsanto was the target of protests by environmental groups when it first introduced Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn in the country in 2002. The company was tagged as the source of the dreaded “Frankenfood,” as what cynics called GM food products. By then, however, consumers had started enjoying eating, among others, potato chips, french fries and even soya-based delicacies, most of which could easily be certified as “GMO-based.”

After a jittery start of less than 10,000 hectares planted to Bt corn in 2003, GM corn has suddenly mushroomed all over the country, with about 300,000 hectares planted, not only with the old Bt corn, but also with the new GM round-up ready and stacked varieties. That is based on the data of the Department of Agriculture (DA), which say that about 1 million hectares are planted with yellow corn, which is basically for feed and industrial use.

The problem now is that Monsanto, along with its fellow multinational agricultural giants Pioneer and Syngenta, have difficulty coping with the demand for GM yellow corn seeds to help augment the estimated 800,000 metric tons gap between grain production and the requirement for yellow corn, particularly for feeds.

“In the previous years we’ve seen [its] growth, but we didn’t expect that there would be an upsurge in demand,” admits Estrada, a plant pathologist. “Maybe we have misread the demand for the product.”

But, having realized the real demand, why couldn’t they remedy the situation?

Estrada explains: “We need to inform the seed production team a year-and-a-half in advance of what we intend to sell a year-and-a-half from today.”

He quickly points out that they have been projecting the market demand yearly, but “the demand now was just so great.”

True, only the Philippines has openly embraced the commercial growing of GM corn in the region, but rising food prices have prompted its neighbors to finally look at it as an option for commercial farming.

A Japanese ministry official was even quoted as saying that, “given the expansion in the cultivation of GM products abroad and rising demand for food, we are reviewing ways to have the option of commercial farming in the future.” Japan does not ban GM farming, but its strict regulation has discouraged corporate investment in the area.

According to the International Service for the Acquisition of Biotech Applications, it was in 2007 that the accumulated number of farmer decisions to adopt biotech crops exceeded 50 million. The number of countries planting biotech crops by then had increased to 23—these are the Philippines, 11 other developing countries, and 11 industrial countries.

Technology does it
According to Estrada, as more and more farmers shift from traditional varieties to GM corn, they are realizing the value that this technology has given. “It’s trying it and seeing it, and really experiencing the benefits and value that the technology brings. I think that’s what brings the adoption.”

For instance, Bt corn, which Monsanto commercially distributes as “YieldGard,” is resistant to the dreaded Asian corn borer (ACB), which continues to be a major concern in the country. Rather than spraying insecticides, which exposes them to dangerous chemicals, farmers can rely on Bt corn’s built-in tolerance for corn borer.

“If you see this from the farmer’s angle, this is something that would help you get more yields,” Estrada points out.

This is also what makes him passionate about the work he is doing for the US-based Monsanto, a leading provider of agricultural solutions to growers worldwide, but which became a household name with its production of GMOs.

“In addition to having a job, it’s a kind of job that gives you a level of satisfaction,” he says. “If I go to the field and talk to the farmers who say, ‘Napalitan ko ’yung bubong ko. Nakabili ako ng sapatos kay Junior kasi kumita ako ng extra [I was able to replace my roof, I bought shoes for my son because I earned extra],’ that’s very, very satisfying. That’s why I always make it a point to talk to farmers.”

Estrada, in fact, never had second thoughts about venturing into agriculture. His father Benny was a plant pathologist at the International Rice Research Institute (Irri), and this exposed him to the field, having been educated in Los Baños since his elementary days until he finished his graduate studies in plant pathology at the University of the Philippines in Los Baños (UPLB).

Estrada, who later pursued doctorate studies in microbiology at the University of Canterbury in England, says he didn’t even regret being identified with Monsanto.

“My background in science has helped me understand the technologies that we were developing. I’m able to communicate that with employees who are stakeholders here. Some experience in the field of science helps in appreciating technologies.”

Getting it done
For Estrada, the Philippines can make a difference in modern corn production, adding that the technology being offered by GM corn is “the same technology that the United States is offering.”

He believes that technology is only one of the three key issues that need to be addressed to attain self-sufficiency in corn. There is the land use and the need to provide adequate postharvest facilities.

In land area, the past two years showed an increase in the area planted to corn. Compared with rice, corn grows during the dry season even without irrigation.

But unfortunately, the Philippines does not have the luxury of increasing the area for corn production. And this is where technology comes in. For instance, the likes of the “roundup-ready corn” would be applicable to the farmers’ needs.

“If you plant a variety that gives you three to four tons, a hybrid can double that. In a way, just shifting from a variety to a hybrid can give that opportunity to increase your yield on a per unit area,” he says,

Biotech corn provides higher yield, considering it was designed to address several stresses, including the problem of corn borers and weeds. Without any stress, Estrada says a farmer can yield as much as 10 tons per hectare.

According to Estrada, there is really a need to improve the postharvest aspect, which “is sometimes being overlooked.”

“You can see farmers drying corn on the roads. Before long, this will rot easily so [there’s] a lot of wastage,” he says. At least 10 percent to 15 percent of corn produced goes to waste after harvest simply because of inadequacy in the drying process.

Basically, Estrada says that seed companies like Monsanto are introducing the same germplasm that they use in other countries. Of course, he says, the situation in the Philippines cannot be compared with that of the United States, Argentina and Brazil, which have higher yields per unit area.

“One thing that needs to be factored-in in the yield of corn is a combination of your hybrid and the environment. Even if your corn is high-yielding, but the environment is not really good, you won’t get that yield,” he explains.

The Philippines, he says, gets stress from the environment, with droughts and diseases that affect the corn yield.

He says Monsanto is now trying to develop a drought-tolerant corn, seeing how drought has been plaguing corn-growing countries like the Philippines the past several years. Incidentally, it was a seven-year drought condition that drastically reduced Australia’s rice farm yields, and this was one of the triggers, according to earlier news reports, of the current supply-and-price crisis in the world market for the grain.

“With this new technology that hopefully in a few years’ time will be available to corn farmers in the Philippines, I’m sure it can help them address the problem they encounter in the field,” says Estrada.

He concedes, meanwhile, that yet another issue being raised against seed producers is the cost, but stresses that it is also important to look at how much value these technologies give to farmers. And then proceeds to do the math: conventional corn costs an average of P3,500 per hectare, compared with the GM hybrid, which would entail an additional cost of P1,500 to P2,000. “But if the farmer would harvest six tons per hectare [from the GM corn] versus five tons for conventional, that’s an additional one-ton yield for a farmer. At the price of P12 per kilo, that’s an additional P12,000 in income,” he says—way above the additional cost of the seed.