AREA planted with genetically modified corn (Bt corn) is expected to have fallen short of the 480,000 hectares projected for last year in the wake of damage from storms that hit in the fourth quarter.

Randy A. Hautea, director for South East Asia of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA), told reporters yesterday that his organization -- which advices the International Rice Research Institute and the Philippine Rice Research Institute on genetically modified crops -- has discovered that about 400,000 hectares were planted with Bt corn.

"We are still finalizing the data, but if [weather] conditions had only been normal, we would have achieved the projected 480,000 has for Bt corn. Aside from the typhoons, the El Niño dry spell [which started in December] has also affected the whole corn industry," Mr. Hautea said.

Mr. Hautea said most of the areas planted are in Region 2, or the Cagayan Valley, a major corn producer that is also one of the regions now worst affected by the dry spell.

He declined to give projections for this year, saying "we do not know the full effect of El Niño."