Source: CropBiotech Net

The Philippines has recently approved the planting and sale of its second biotech maize, this time BT-11 from Syngenta. Like Monsanto’s MON810, this maize is resistant to the Asiatic corn borer, and has been extensively tested for safety and efficacy in the Philippine climate.

The Asiatic corn borer has been known to cause yield losses of up to 80%. With another biotech maize variety on the market, farmers could increase their yields by up to 40% per harvest. According to Rod Bioco, president of the Philippine Maize Federation Inc., Bt corn farmers’ yields increased by 25-33% last year. However, Bt maize seeds are twice as expensive as hybrid seeds. "If there is a new competition in the market, hopefully the price of corn seeds will drop," Bioco says.

The country was also the first in Asia to commercialize genetically modified (GM) corn, but with the domestic harvest still lower than demand, the Philippines remains a net corn importer. About 52,000 hectares were planted with BT corn last year, approximately 2% of the total 2.5 million hectares planted to corn in the country.

With information from the Bureau of Plant Industry and reports from Reuters and AgBios