Listening to "both sides of the coin" is the
best action to be taken by North Cotabato (Philippines)
provincial government when it comes to the field testing
of the fruit
and shoot borer (FSB) resistant Bt 'talong' (eggplant),
said the province's vice governor Gregorio T. Ipong in a
briefing with the provincial council last January 12, 2011.
The North Cotabato provincial government has invited proponents
of Bt 'talong' from the University
of the Philippines Los Baños to hear the science behind
and research results of Bt 'talong'. Similarly, the Philippine
biotech regulation and experiences on biotech corn adoption
were also imparted to the members of the local government
units.
"The best way in discerning things is to get back
to how these things came about through scientific method,"
said Ipong. "As a politician, I tend to listen to the
emotions of the people. And yet as an engineer, I also have
to listen to the scientific results. It is not a bad idea
to see and hear both sides. The provincial council has to
listen to all sides, and then decide on things that would
be beneficial to the people of North Cotabato."
North Cotabato provincial agri-council chair Vicente Sorupia,
citing the local government code, said in his opening message
in a Bt crops seminar conducted the following day that it
is the policy of the state to require the local government
to hold consultations with all concerned sectors before
implementing a project. Hence, the province plans to conduct
consultative activities in the following weeks, hoping to
hear the concerns of other sectors, and come up with an
informed conclusion on Bt 'talong' field trial.
The University
of Southern Mindanao, situated in Kabacan, North Cotobato,
is one of the approved testing sites for the multi-location
field trial of Bt 'talong'. Initial research results from
the field trials which have been conducted in other places
in the country showed the high resistance of Bt 'talong'
to the target insect pest, FSB. It is expected that this
Bt technology will improve the marketable yield of eggplant
and provide positive impact to the environment and health
of farmers due to significant reduction in pesticide use.
(Jenny
A. Panopio and Sophia
M. Mercado)
