Bulacan farmers shift to Bt corn

SAN ILDEFONSO, Bulacan – Spouses Jack and Socorro Caindec moved to Barangay Buhol-na-Manga here five years ago to start a sweet corn plantation. Their venture failed due to pests.

They didn’t give up, and instead started attending seminars on corn production that tackles new technologies and breeds. Last year, they tried Bt corn or transgenic corn and it made a difference.

During the corn harvest festival here on Friday, Benigno Cruz, the hybrid corn program coordinator of the Provincial Agriculture Office (PAO), computed the total yield from Caindec’s and found out that the one-hectare corn farm yielded eight to 10 tons this crop season.

"Makakabawi na kami ngayon (We can recover now)," said Soccorro, noting the loses they had when they planted sweet corn.

Bt corn seeds are more expensive but Socorro said they invested heavily on Bt corn because they have seen its advantage over other breeds.

One is the absence of a pest called corn borer because Bt corn and other transgenic crops contain a gene that controls the pests. In the case of Bt corn, the gene is taken from the naturally occurring bacterium called Baccillus Thuringiensis (Bt).

Experts said the Bt gene produces Cry protein, which is the active substance that kills corn borers.

Alex Santos and Gil David, both members of the GMA corn program of the Department of Agriculture Central Luzon office, told The STAR that Bulacan has a good potential for large-scale production of corn due to its rolling terrains, especially in the Eastern part of the province.

Bulacan is formerly a rice-producing province, but increasing land conversion and erratic irrigation and water supply reduced its capability to produce rice.

This led the provincial government to refocus farm productivity by shifting to high-value commercial crops (HVCC) and corn production. On Friday, Gov. Josie dela Cruz gave away at least 100 sacks of hybrid and Bt corn seeds to be planted by local farmers here.