PHL among world's top planters of GM crops in 2014

The Philippines is one of the top countries in the world in terms of planting genetically modified crops.

 

According to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), around 831,000 hectares of biotech corn were planted in the Philippines in 2014. This is one of the findings shared during ISAAA’s annual report on the status of commercialized biotech crops.

 

This marks an increase from 795,000 hectares in 2013, placing the Philippines at number 12 in the list of top countries planting biotech crops. The United States is No. 1 on that list at 73.1 million hectares.

 

In 2014, 28 countries planted more than 181 million hectares of biotech crops. Of those, 20 are developing countries. 

 

This growing adoption of GM crops over the past 20 years had led to an average of 37 percent decrease in chemical pesticide usage, a 22 percent increase in crop yields, and a 68% increase in profits for farmers, according to the report.

 

Last year, the first planting of BT eggplant took place in Bangladesh. Biotech corn and drought-tolerant sugarcane are expected to be commercialized in 2015 in Vietnam and Indonesia, respectively.

 

GM crops in the Philippines

 

In the Philippines, farmers are still fighting in court for the commercialization of BT eggplant in the country.

 

In 2013, the Court of Appeals had issued a Writ of Kalikasan which ordered government agencies concerned to stop field trials of BT eggplant.

 

Meanwhile, the Philippine Rice Research Institute and the International Rice Research Institute are working on Golden Rice, a GMO rice that could potentially help alleviate problems related to Vitamin A deficiency.

 

The Philippines in the first country in the ASEAN region to develop rules and regulation in the study and development of biotech crops.

 

At the moment, biotech corn is the only biotech crop being planted in the country. It has been commercially available since 2003 and there have been no reports about any ill-effects caused by the corn. Philippine corn self-sufficiency was achieved in 2012. In 2014, 761,000 hectares of pest-resistant and herbicide-tolerant biotech corn were planted.

 

Multiple studies outline the benefits of GM corn in the Philippines. The population of beneficial insects has grown, arthropod diversity remains the same even after exposure to the corn, and the integrity of local plants and ecosystems remains stable. —JST, GMA News