Monsanto hails savants’ stand on biotechnology

International agricultural research leader Monsanto recently lauded the firm stand of Filipino scientists in support of the food sufficiency policy of the Arroyo administration.

Several groups of Filipino scientists led by researchers and professors from the University of the Philippines defended the Arroyo policy, which anchored the growth of a modern agricultural sector on biotechnology. The Philippine government has been conducting at least seven major researches on the application of the technology to agriculture since 1997.

Monsanto government and public affairs director Noel Borlongan said the issue of biotechnology has shown the unity and strength of the local scientific community. The scientists also criticized an alleged well-funded campaign to discredit biotechnology through a persistent "scare campaign."

Borlongan noted the firm stand of the Filipino scientists on the safety issue involving biotech-processed plants. The scientists said all commercially released genetically modified plants "have undergone thorough testing." They said several international agencies such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the European Commission, the Third World Academy of Sciences and the national academies of science and technology of several countries have declared that these food crops "are as safe as any conventionally-bred crop and pose no additional threat to humans and the environment.

In addition, the Pontifical Academy of Life, through its vice president, Bishop Elio Sgreccia, said "research in the biotechnological field could resolve enormous problems such as the adaptation of agriculture to arid land, thus conquering hunger."

Among the local scientist organizations supporting President Arroyo’s agricultural biotechnology policy are the Women Association of Scientists in the Philippines, the Philippine Association for the Advancement of Science and Technology, the Biochemical Society of the Philippines, the Foundation for the Advancement of Science and Technology and various units of UP, including the Institute of Plant Breeding, the National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, the National Institute of Health, and the Natural Science Research Center.

Borlongan said the united stand of Filipino scientists behind biotechnology "augurs well for the transformation of local farms into more productive enterprises."

A united Filipino scientific community will be able to demolish the myths and counter the scare campaign mounted by the anti-biotech groups, he said. He added that the ultimate beneficiary of the unity of local scientists "are the Filipino farmers who are most in need of modern farm technologies."

Monsanto is currently assisting the Philippine government through extensive researches on the prospects of biotech-processed corn in the country. Borlongan said recently concluded farm trials showed that Filipino farmers could raise their corn harvest up to 40 percent using the biotech-corn variety. The increase can be achieved with significantly less insecticide application, he pointed out.

Borlongan said that on average farm prices of corn at P6-7 per kilo, the average 20-to 40-percent yield advantage of the biotech-processed corn "could give our Filipino corn farmers a potential additional income of P5,000 to P10,000 per hectare per harvest."

Monsanto developed a corn variety called YieldGard through the biotech process. YieldGard is naturally resistant to the Asiatic corn borer, the deadliest plague faced by local corn crops, especially in Mindanao and Luzon. These areas have been dubbed "corn borer haven" because of the widespread presence of the pest in its farms.

Biotechnology is predominantly used in some 14 countries, including the US, Canada, South Africa, Brazil and Argentina. Several Asian countries like China and Indonesia and most recently India have already made giant steps towards the adoption of biotechnology.