March 2, 2010

El Niño slows Philippine high-yield corn expansion

High-yield grain varieties are unlikely to help the Philippines weather this year's El Niño, according to a farm biotechnology expert.

Randy Hautea, director for Southeast Asia of the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications (ISAAA), said the expansion of Bt-corn in the Philippines would slow down because of the lingering dry spell.

"We cannot give a projection for this year yet since the dry spell would have a significant impact in terms of Bt-corn growth in the Philippines," Hautea said.

Bt-corn is a variant of corn that is genetically altered to release a toxin against insects.

Meanwhile, in 2008, the area planted to Bt-corn stood at 350,000 hectares. ISAAA had projected that the area would increase to 480,000 hectares in 2009. But due to the unfavourable weather, the actual area would only be around 400,000, Hautea said.

The Philippines is the only country in Asia that has approved the entry of genetically modified corn. Other countries fear that the Bt-corn would adversely affect the health of livestock, which could be possibly passed on to humans once consumed.