Several key stakeholders: scientists, regulators, academicians,
farmers, media practitioners, government representatives,
private sectors, non-government organizations, and local
government units, joined the recent launch of the latest
International
Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications
(ISAAA) publication on the Global Status of Commercialized
Biotech/GM Crops for 2010. The updated data on biotechnology
adoption and global impact was shared by Dr. Clive James,
founder and chairman of ISAAA during the Seminar on the
"Global Perspective of Commercialized Biotech/GM Crops:
2010" last March 11, 2011 at the Dusit Thani Hotel,
Makati City.
The Philippines is the first country in Southeast Asia
to approve the propagation of a biotech crop since the commercialization
of Bt corn in 2003. It is also the first Southeast Asian
country to be included in the mega countries adopting biotech
crops. For 2010, the Philippines ranked 13th among the 29
adopting countries worldwide who have planted a total of
148 million hectares. Biotech corn is planted in more than
500,000 hectares by about 270,000 small-scale resource farmers
in the Philippines.
Dr. Gil Saguiguit, Jr., Southeast
Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in
Agriculture (SEARCA) director, underscored biotechnology's
importance in agricultural development and commended the
recent data on global adoption of biotech/GM crops and its
contribution to food productivity and poverty alleviation.
Dr. Ruben Villareal, on the other hand, said that biotech
crops are expected to expand as more important crops in
developing countries are given R&D attention.
Mr. Isidro Acosta, the farmer speaker from Naguilian, Isabela,
shared how biotechnology made his life better. He was among
the first farmers to plant Bt corn in Isabela and his yield
increased from three metric tons per hectare to seven metric
tons, consequently increasing his income.
The Philippine launch was co-organized by the National
Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), SEARCA, and
ISAAA. (Jenny
A. Panopio and Sophia
M. Mercado)
