Biolife Magazine*, July-August 2006 issue via SEAMEO SEARCA

By Dr. Benigno Peczon, Ph.D.
President of the Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines
Speech delivered at the International Conference on Agriculture for Food, National Sovereignty and Rural Growth held in India on 25-27 May 2006.

A country may avail of technology in agri-biotechnology by adopting foreign technology, developing technology with foreign partners and by unilaterally developing the needed technology. The Philippines is talking all these routes. The first route, adopting foreign technology, has proven to be the most facile in bringing a commercial product, Bt corn, to market.

Since genetically modified crops are relatively new and all their effects are not known, a credible regulatory system must be in place. As early as the late '80s, Filipino scientists were aware of the possibilities - and concerns - that accompany genetic modification. Using guidelines in a 1987 report of an ad-hoc committee consisting of people from the University of the Philippines at Los Baños, the International Rice Research Institute and the Philippine Department of Agriculture, the Philippine President Corazon C. Aquino issued Executive Order 430, which constituted the National Committee on Biosafety of the Philippines. Perceiving the potential benefits but aware of possible repercussions, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo in 2001 issued the following policy statement:

"We shall promote the safe and responsible use of modern biotechnology and its products as one of the means to achieve food security, equal access to health services, a sustainable and safe environment, and industry development".

To guide the commercial usage of biotech crops, in 2002, the Philippine Secretary of Agriculture issued Administrative Order Number 8 titled "Rules and Regulations for the Importation and Release into the Environment of Plants and Plant Products Derived from the Use of Modern Biotechnology".

Transformation events which were subsequently approved for propagation are:
 

The advantage of using foreign-developed technology is that it shortened time required to avail of the fruits of modern biotechnology. The disadvantage is that the price of seeds is controlled by the technology developer. Predictably, this has led to a sharing of the economic advantage. A 2004 study showed that of the value gained utilizing Bt corn, the farmers' share was 52% while that of the technology developer was 48%.

Planting Bt corn increased harvests substantially. While not all farmers saw increased yields, the vast majority obtained harvests higher than those obtained with seeds that had been used thus far. The average corn yield in the Philippines, prior to the advent of genetic modification, was about 2.65 tons per hectare. With good farm practices, yields with Bt corn ranged from 4 to j9 tons per hectare. One farmer in the town of Mexico, Pampanga on the island of Luzon was recognized by the Philippines Department of Agriculture for obtaining an average yield of 10.2 tons per hectare. In three separate studies, the average increase when utilizing Bt corn ranged from 10 to 35%.

Hectarage grown to Bt corn ranged from around 120 hectares in 2002 to about 52,000 hectares in 2005. In part because of approval for commercial planting of seeds resistant to both corn borers and herbicide, a substantial increase in hectarage planted to Bt corn is expected in 2006.

The regulatory barrier was raised by the issuance of Executive Order 514, which creates the National Biosafety Framework of the Philippines in early 2006. Compliance with EO 514 is expected to increase the time it takes to bring biotech crop to market.

Biotech crops being developed through alliances with other countries are eggplant resistant to borers, papaya resistant to ringspot virus and rice with built-in beta carotene, the so-called Golden Rice. It is likely that the next set of biotech crops which will see commercial production will come from this group.

Biotech crops being developed by Filipino scientists include rice, abaca, mango, coconut and sweet potato. Commercial release of biotech crops from this group will take years if not decades.

In summary, technology acquisition using foreign technology is the shortest route to obtaining the fruits of modern biotechnology. Collaboration with foreign stakeholders compresses the timeline, reducing the disadvantage of lost opportunity. For a country with limited resources, developing biotech crops within the country has proven to be the slowest route to technology acquisition. Timelines for commercialization of biotech crops depend upon the nature of government regulatory guidelines. Stringent guidelines increase both time and money needed to bring a biotech crop to market.

*BioLife is a bi-monthly magazine published by the Biotechnology Coalition of the Philippines in cooperation with the J. Burgos Media Group