Despite opposition from various organizations and agriculture stakeholders, scientists and researchers at the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) will be conducting field trials of genetically modified (GM) rice by December this year, the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) said. PhilRice researchers, in collaboration with the IRRI, are now developing a version of “golden rice,” which is engineered to produce beta-carotene. Their effort is aimed at developing the first commercially grown GM rice in the world.

It can be recalled that Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala issued a statement opposing the commercialization of GM rice in the country, saying that he will not allow the production of genetically modified rice “unless it is proved safe for human consumption.”

Alcala, the former representative of Quezon province, is also pushing for organic agriculture and has co-authored a law that promotes organic farming.

But since being appointed Agriculture secretary, Alcala said he will make farmer stakeholders choose between conventional or chemical and organic farming methods.

PhilRice Executive Director Ronilo Beronio said that the organic farming law poses no interference with IRRI’s research into GM rice.

“We have a regulatory system in place. The administrative order that allows field trials and commercialization of GM crops, as well as the AFMA [Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act], which encourages biotechnology, have not been revoked. I don’t think the organic law has been amended or superseded,” he said.

Beronio added that PhilRice expects approval by the Bureau of Plant Industry, which oversees field trials, on the GM rice trials.

He said that the National Committee on Biosafety of the Philippines, which oversees genetic engineering activities, has already allowed confined trials, which precede field trials, both at PhilRice and IRRI sites.

Project leader Antonio Alfonso said the December field tests will be conducted at a single location and will last four months during the cropping season for that period. Also, multi-location trials for at least two cropping seasons will follow, with the aim of commercializing the GM rice by 2012 or early 2013.

Beronio said that Alcala, who chairs PhilRice’s Board of Trustees, will be informed of the developments at a forthcoming meeting where it will be argued that field trials are necessary for a thorough scientific evaluation of the crop’s safety.

If commercialized, the Philippines, now the world’s largest rice importer, would again lead developing countries in bringing a GM crop to the market. In 2002, the country was the first in Asia to commercialize a transgenic crop, Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis) corn, for animal feed and food.

Beronio said the Institute of Plant Breeding at the University of the Philippines is set to release a Bt eggplant to the market next year with trials being conducted at the moment.

“The developing world is watching,” said Bruce Chassy, a food science professor who has served on international committees that have developed safety standards for GM foods.

“The Philippines has been a model for the developing world. The country has good scientists working with professional regulators who move slowly and carefully to good decisions,” he said.

GM crops are developed by inserting a gene or organism in a host plant to make the latter more resistant to certain pests and diseases, which allow farmers to less use pesticides or herbicides.

But critics of GM crops said more tests are needed before commercializing such crops to make sure that these are safe for human consumption over the long term.