The country’s adoption of biotech maize has increased consistently over the years. A study by the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Application (ISAAA) showed that in 2008, area planted to biotech maize grew by 40 percent to 350,000 hectares from 248,000 hectares in 2007.

Areas occupied in 2008 by stacked traits of Biotech Herbicide Tolerant (BT/H) maize is 200,000 hectares, up by 300 percent from 63,000 hectares in 2007.

The research showed that farms planting biotech maize in the northern Philippine provinces were determined to have significantly higher populations of beneficial insects--such as flower bugs, beetles, and spiders--than those planted with conventional hybrid maize.

Farm level economic benefit of planting biotech maize for the period of 2003 to 2007 was registered at about $66 million. Twelve million dollars of this was from the tolerance of maize from herbicide, and $55 was from insect resistance.

The research showed that the gain profit at the farm level was P10,132 per hectare for farmers planting biotech maize.

Overall, the study showed that the Philippines has already gained $30 million from biotech maize from 2003 to 2006.

In 2008, stacked maize traits, BT/H, represent 60 percent of the biotech maize in the country.

More biotech products are expected to be commercialized in the next five years.

There are recent studies being conducted for the propagation of other biotech crops such as rice, eggplant, abaca and coconut.