Monsanto hails support from local government units

Leading global agricultural technology company Monsanto recently lauded the support of Philippine local government officials for the field testing of a variety of biotechnology-processed corn seed which could significantly increase farm yield with reduced insecticide application.

Noel Borlongan, Monsanto government and public affairs director, said the success of the farm trials for the corn variety called YieldGard is due, to a large part, to the all-out backing that the agricultural experiment received from provincial governors, congressmen and municipal mayors. He hailed the LGU officials’ desire to allow corn farmers in their respective localities "to see for themselves the features of YieldGard in order to expand their options on the choice of corn seeds in the future".

Monsanto particularly cited the support of Isabela governor Faustino Dy Jr., Isabela Congressman Rodolfo Albano and the South Cotabato League of Municipalities led by the mayors of the rich Mindanao province. These officials unanimously backed President Arroyo’s adoption of biotechnology as an anchor of the government’s program for food sufficiency.

Borlongan said the open support of local government officials in Isabela and South Cotabato, as well as in the other pilot provinces of the biotechnology experiments, was instrumental in generating interest among farmer groups. LGU officials are still the most credible opinion leaders in their respective areas, Borlongan pointed out.

He added that LGU officials also prevented certain groups who identified themselves as non-governmental organizations from destroying the trial farms. Governor Dy specifically warned these groups of "dire consequences" the trial farms in his province was damaged. Dy said it is importat for farmers to see the experiment "so they can decide for themselves what type of crops they want to plant".

The South Cotabato League of Municipalities, on the other hand, resisted attempts by organized groups to uproot and burn the biotechnology crops planted in trial farm sites. League president and Tampakan Mayor Claudius Barroso bucked pressure from some provincial politicians who tried to block the biotechnology experiments.

Borlongan said both the wet season and dry season field tests for YieldGard have already been completed. The wet season trials resulted in an average 40 percent higher yield by the biotech corn type than traditional corn varieties. The increase was attained with reduced or eliminated insecticide application. This was because biotechnology enabled the development of natural resistance by the hybrid corn variety to the Asiatic Corn Borer, the worst corn crop plague in the region.

Borlongan also cited the support of Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Montemayor and Presidential Advisers for agriculture Luis Lorenzo and Lito Sarmiento. He cited these officials "for their openness to the benefits that biotechnology brings to the local agricultural sector".